Clerics urge govt, Taliban for ceasefire

Clerics on Saturday urged both the government and Taliban terrorists for a ceasefire, saying that use of force was no solution.
Reading a joint statement of the Ulema and Mashaikh Convention in Lahore, Taliban’s talk committee head Samiul Haq said that the restoration of peace was a prerequisite for stability‚ progress and prosperity in the country. He said that today’s convention was convened to take the clerics into confidence over the dialogue process.
The joint statement read that the Taliban were sons of Pakistan, therefore they should support peace process for the country’s sake.
It also read the convention agreed that peace in Pakistan could only be achieved through talks. The statement laid emphasis on the dialogue process and called that the use of force should be avoided even if talks failed.
The clerics also sought the Taliban’s support for the restoration of peace in the country. The statement added that a ceasefire was necessary for successful talks and clerics appealed to the Taliban and government to announce a ceasefire.
The statement read more such conventions were required in all four provinces. It also read that the convention demanded both sides to hold a ceasefire to make dialogue process successful.
The statement said military operation and use of force would lead the country to an endless bloodshed. The convention urged the TTP not to talk with weapons, but speak the language of peace. It said some elements wanted to sabotage peace process, adding that sectarianism and other conspiracies of enemies should be foiled by unity.
The statement also said mistakes of former governments had dragged the country into proxy war of the US which resulted in relentless violence in Pakistan. It said the real jihad was to pull the country out of the West’s war.
Earlier, addressing the convention, Samiul Haq said that operation against Taliban would not be the right decision and both sides should be aware of the conspiracies that were being hatched to foil the peace talks.
He said that it was a huge responsibility and he was not capable enough to take it that was why he invited all others to take part in the peace talk process.
Haq urged both sides to announce a ceasefire to obtain the best results from the talks. He said that the restoration of peace was a pre-requisite for stability‚ progress and prosperity in the country.
He said that the convention has been convened to take the clerics into confidence over the talk process. He said that everyone should try to make the talks successful and result-oriented.
Haq said that the religion does not allow torture, terror and extremism. “Saving one person’s life is equal to saving lives of all humans,” he asserted.