‘Pakistan should also hold talks with its Taliban’

ISLAMABAD - In order to restore peace in the country, the Pakistan government should immediately hold a dialogue with the “Pakistan” Taliban on the pattern of the measures being taken by the Afghan government, an editorial in a Pakistani paper said Monday.

However, in order to create a conducive atmosphere for such talks, the Pakistan government must prevail on the US to stop its drone attacks in the tribal areas, the editorial in the Nawa-i-Waqt said.

It said Afghan President Hamid Karzai had announced a peace dialogue with the Taliban and has even set up a “Peace Council”, the composition of which will be announced after Eid, but is likely to also include ‘jihadi’ ideologues, influential tribal elders and women.

“The Taliban is truly a force to reckon with in Afghanistan. Talks with them should have started much earlier but better late than never. Hamid Karzai has finally been granted permission by his American overlords to talk with the Taliban,” the editorial said.

It said that it remains to be seen what results these talks will have, but hoped peace would return to Afghanistan, so - like Iraq - America could pack its bags and leave the area.

The editorial said the Pakistan government had a “deep involvement with the whole problem in Afghanistan” but urged it to keep away so that all shades of opinion in Afghanistan could participate and “also so no one could later say that Pakistan was responsible for the dialogue’s failure”.

“Pakistan government should instead begin talks with the various groups of Taliban on its territory and the earlier such dialogue starts the better it will be, so that peace can return to Pakistan,” it said.

It urged President Asaf Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army chief Gen. Pervez Kayani to raise “in one voice” with the US the issue of stopping drone attacks, so that proper conditions for talks were in place.