Samiul Haq tasked by Pakistani premier to initiate talks with Taliban

The chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S), Maulana Samiul Haq assured the prime minister he would keep him abreast with all developments pertaining to the matter.

Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif held a one on one meeting for about one and a half hour with the JUI-S chief, who had called on him, and discussed threadbare matters relating to peace-talks with the Taliban.

Sources confirmed that the PM assigned the task of paving way for talks with Taliban to Maulana Samiul Haq. The PM is said to have told Samiul Haq that the government sincerely desires holding talks with the Taliban, thus asking him to initiate the rapprochement.

Talking to media, Maulana Samiul Haq noted that he indeed met with the prime minister following his expressed request. He declared that to the best of his ability he would try to help resolve this issue. He added that at the core of any détente all drone attacks would have to end completely.

“The US should understand that any talks with the Taliban are in the interest Pakistan as well as the region,” he emphasized.  “When we get ready, foreign pressures do not allow us to proceed. Thousands of Pakistanis have been martyred in the war, which is not ours,” he further stressed. He demanded that the losses incurred in North Waziristan be compensated and advised the Prime Minister to revisit his foreign policy.

Maulana Samiul Haq confirmed that the Rawalpindi tragedy and matters relating to sectarianism were also discussed during his meeting with the PM.