Pakistan politicians back calls for peace talks with Taliban

On Monday, members of Pakistan’s ruling and opposition parties, who attended an All Parties Conference (APC), passed the resolution and supported Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s calls for talks, saying, “We repose full confidence in (the) efforts of the prime minister in this behalf and call upon the federal government to initiate the dialogue with all stakeholders.”
 
Last month, Sharif called for peace talks with the pro-Taliban militant groups in a televised speech, saying, “Like every Pakistani, I want to put an end to this bloodshed as soon as possible, whether this is done through mutual understanding at the negotiating table or the use of fully fledged state force.”
 
In May, a Taliban spokesman was quoted as saying that the militants might agree on a truce if Sharif and his party showed seriousness in holding the peace talks.
 
However, pro-Taliban militants withdrew their offer of peace talks to the new government after a US terror drone killed their deputy chief, Wali-ur-Rahman Mehsud.
 
The Monday resolution also strongly condemned the US assassination drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas, saying, “The Federal Government should consider the possibility of taking the drone issue to the United Nations as drone attacks are a violation of International Law.”
 
Washington claims its drone strikes target militants, although casualty figures show that Pakistani civilians are often the victims of the non-UN-sanctioned attacks.
 
Militants have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians, and managed to spread their influence in various regions of the country, despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani Army.
 
Pakistani security forces have launched several operations in the troubled northwest and southwest in a bid to flush out militants from the tribal zone.
 
Despite the Pakistani government's operations against pro-Taliban militants and associated groups, they have been able to spread their influence in various regions of the country and kill thousands of people.
 
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001 when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US on the so-called war on terror, according to local media.