Turning tables on fables: A Sharif after all!

• Scotching speculation of armed offensive against terrorists, PM forms four-member committee for peace talks with them
• Nawaz to personally supervise committee, says wants to give peace another chance

Adopting a more pacifist approach amidst the Taliban induced bloodshed which has painted the country red, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday announced to constitute a four-member committee to hold talks with the banned terror outfit, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Addressing the National Assembly, Nawaz said he wanted to give peace one more chance.

Nawaz announced that Major (r) Mohammad Amir, Irfan Siddiqui, Rahimullah Yusufzai and Rustam Shah Mohmand will be in the committee, adding that he will personally supervise the committee.

The prime minister said that he wanted to end terrorism in the country, whether through dialogue or military operation. He thanked political parties which mandated the government to tackle the issue by negotiating with the Taliban.

Nawaz said the entire nation would have supported him had his government opted for the operation for eradication of terrorism. “But we want to give peace another chance. Peace is our destination and the entire nation is united to achieve this objective,” he said.

The prime minister, however, categorically stated that the terrorists will not be allowed to keep the nation hostage.

Nawaz said that the country has been facing the menace of terrorism for the last 14 years as a result of a ‘bad decision by a military ruler’. He said the dictator plunged the country into anarchy to prolong his own stay in power.

The prime minister said that the government had made sincere efforts for holding talks with terrorists following All Parties Conference. However, he added, these elements refused to hold talks and continued their attacks on the armed forces and civilians.

Nawaz expressed confidence that the ‘other party’ will initiate the process with good intention for the success of the dialogue process.

“Dialogue and terrorism cannot go together. The game of fire and ammunition should come to an end now,” he said.

The premier said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who remained a focal person for the dialogue process, will assist the committee and he will personally monitor the whole process.

The prime minister said he believed in transparent and open dialogue with the other party under some sort of timeframe. He said that Rustam Shah Mohmand, the representative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been made part of the committee to bring transparency.

Nawaz said that the people of Pakistan and the institutions were hit by terrorism and those perpetrating attacks and killing innocent people have nothing to do with Islam. “Terrorism is in total negation of the Islamic injections and no religious scholar can give edict [fatwa] justifying terrorist attacks,” he said.

Nawaz said the acts of terrorism have claimed the lives of security personnel, religious scholars, minorities and the common people. “Despite this, we pursued the course of peace and dialogue after the All Parties Conference.”

However, he regretted that the other party did not reciprocate the government’s goodwill. “They not only openly refused to hold dialogue but continued to target our security forces and people,” he said.

Sharing the grief of those killed in terrorist attacks and drone strikes, Nawaz said the government was making all-out efforts to bring the drone attacks to an end. He said that the drone attacks were not been carried out by Pakistanis and the acts of terrorists in response to the drone attacks were not justifiable.

The prime minister invited all the political parties to join hands with the government and give valuable suggestions for the success of peace process.

COMMITTEE CREDENTIALS:

Rustam Shah Mohmand is a specialist of Afghanistan and central Asian Affairs and a renowned security analyst. He has also served as high commissioner of Pakistan to Afghanistan.

Rahimullah Yusufzai is a Peshawar-based senior journalist who covers events in the NWFP, FATA, Balochistan and Afghanistan. He is regarded as a specialist on Afghan affairs.

Irfan Siddiqui is a noted columnist and analyst. He has recently been appointed as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Affairs.

Major (r) Amir is the son of a renowned Islamic scholar. He had earlier been tasked with negotiating with the militants during former president Pervez Musharraf’s government. Current TTP head Mullah Fazlullah used to consider Major Amir’s father his teacher.