KARACHI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that the government wanted to resolve issues with the Taliban through talks.
Speaking to traders at the Governor House, he said a government delegation was to hold talks with the Taliban but now there was a hurdle, an apparent reference to the killing of TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike last Friday.
He said, “ We don’t want further bloodshed and killing of our brothers and sisters. This matter should have been resolved earlier but now it is incumbent upon us to address this issueâ€.
The statement comes a day after Pakistani Taliban appointed Mullah Fazlullah as their new chief to lead the almost 40 militant groups working under the umbrella of the TTP. Shortly after his appointment, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid termed the government as US puppet and said that their new Amer was against process of talks.
Fazlullah freely moves in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nuristan provinces along the Pakistani border. His appointment is being seen as a setback to government’s efforts to engage the TTP, a conglomerate of militant organizations, in talks.
Nawaz Sharif said that action would be taken against criminal elements in Karachi without any discrimination. He said that the ongoing operation was not politically motivated and government would not be blackmailed on this issue.
