Jirgas, contact groups will be used for talks with Taliban: Rashid

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid on Tuesday said all options, including Jirgas, contact groups, etc, would be used to hold talks with the Taliban. Talking to media persons at the Parliament House, he said that holding of talks with Taliban was the unanimous decision of all the participants of the all parties conference (APC) and no one will be allowed to sabotage the talks with the Taliban. The minister said talks would be used as a measure to eliminate terrorism and would be held with all groups. The minister said talks with the Taliban would be initiated on the basis of confidence building measures and other groups such as Jirgas will also be included in the process. “Talks are not being held for the PML-N but for national interest,” he noted. He said the government would formulate a policy to eliminate terrorism in the country and talks with the Taliban would be held in the light of the resolution adopted by the all parties conference (APC).The talks are in the best national interest as consensus was reached in this regard at the APC held here on Monday, he said. Talks will be held in the larger national interest and the media should avoid reporting such things, which can create ill will before their start, he said.Rashid said Pakistan would itself devise policies for the eradication of the terrorism from the country and there would be no foreign input. He said the government was responsible for all the briefings given at the APC and some of them had been appreciated by the opposition, which meant that the government had been given credit.He said that terrorists had no religion or language and “we have to eradicate all types of terrorism with national consensus”. The minister said that details of the talks would be shared with the media and the nation as it was the right of every Pakistani to know the developments in that regard.To a question about drone attacks, he said that there was no written agreement with the United States. However, a verbal understanding might have been reached by previous governments. “The present government’s stance on drones is very clear and it has utilised the highest diplomatic channels to condemn the attacks,” he added.To another query about reported IMF conditions about imposition of a new tax on gas consumers, he said that no new tax would be imposed.