ANP leader slams proposals for peace talks with Taliban

Awami National Party Parliamentary leader Bashir Ahmad Bilour on Wednesday criticised demands for negotiations with the Taliban, saying such proposals came from those who lacked sagacity. He was apparently referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, who has repeatedly called for talks with the Taliban as a solution to end violence. However, Bilour said in view of the Taliban’s past record of violence, suicide bombings and their role in destabilising the country, any call for negotiations with the Taliban would reflect immaturity and foolishness.
Talking to reporters at his office in the Civil Secretariat, Peshawar, Bilour said the former cricketer was advocating to resume dialogue with those who were brutally killing the masses, including women and children, as well as attacking the troops guarding the national security. He said Imran should know that politics was not a sport but a delicate business, particularly when it came to the country’s defence and its people’s security. After criticising proposals for peace talks, the ANP leader said his party believed in the philosophy of non-violence and had already tried peace attempts with the Taliban. He said the Taliban misused the government’s soft tone and secretly strengthened themselves. They breached the peace agreement, destroyed schools and public infrastructure, lashed women and killed security officials in suicide attacks, Bilour added.
He claimed that the government had successfully eliminated the militants from the entire Malakand area, including Swat through military offensives. He said only those could suggest negotiations who were not unfamiliar with politics and not loyal to the country. Bilour said that even laymen would oppose talks with the Taliban, who were “wild animals in the garb of humanity”. He said Taliban did not hesitate to kill people in the mosques during Friday prayers, Ramadan and Eid. He suggested crushing all such terrorists with an iron hand. He added that the nation was in a state of war and that this war could only be won by participating in it with the same spirit demonstrated by the country’s forefathers in the war of independence.