Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak on Tuesday expressed concern over the federal government’s inaction in commencing with structured talks with the Taliban.
In as statement, the chief minister said the Taliban continued to point out that there had been no formal offer of talks from the government’s side and “we are also aware of this delay”.
Khattak went on to add that “unfortunately this inaction on the part of the federal government to operationalise the APC resolution and move forward in initiating dialogue is allowing those who wish to sabotage dialogue and peace to indulge in increasing acts of terrorism”.
He stressed the importance of putting in place a structured dialogue so that the talks were not conducted through the media which allowed those opposed to the dialogue and peace to spread disinformation.
Shah says no progress on peace talks
Opposition leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Tuesday said it was a matter of concern that despite the government receiving an open mandate on talks with the Taliban, no progress had been made. During a news conference, Shah said the vision of the Pakistan Army was clear and the government had authority to make decisions, yet talks had not been initiated. Shah added that the opposition was not taken into confidence over Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the United States.
