Islamabad: The Jamaat-e-Islami has rejected the Pakistani Taliban’s call to act as a guarantor for any talks between the banned militant group and the government, with a top leader questioning the administration’s stance on such issues.
“We are in favour of talks because issues cannot be resolved without negotiations, but the Jamaat-e-Islami cannot become a guarantor because we have nothing to do with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and they did not contact us to seek our opinion,” Jamaat deputy secretary general Farid Ahmed Piracha said.
“How can we become a guarantor (for the talks) when the government is not ready to implement even the resolutions of parliament,” Piracha told the Dawn newspaper. In a video message released on Sunday, Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said his group would hold talks with the government if PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hasan and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam head Maulana Fazlur Rehman acted as guarantors. Ihsan also demanded that the government should release several top Taliban leaders ahead of any talks. (PTI)
