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Monday, November 11, 2013
Imran wants Nawaz to lead Taliban peace talksNOWSHERA: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to stay in the country and lead peace talks with the Taliban.
“Pakistan is burning while Nawaz Sharif is making foreign trips one after another,” he told the media, adding, “Nawaz Sharif, tell us how much foreign investment came to Pakistan due to your visits?”
Imran criticised the United States for sabotaging peace talks with the Talban when Washington itself was seeking to engage the militants in talks in Afghanistan.
He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government did not want war with the West by blocking NATO supplies instead it only wanted to record protest. He said that thousands of people had taken to streets in the UK to protest war against Iraq.
He alleged that those who were criticising him were receiving money from foreign countries. He also claimed that a “do-more” US lobby was working in Pakistan.
“One who calls for peace talks is labelled as pro-Taliban by the same lobby,” he said.
The PTI chief said that his party has nothing to do with the Taliban, adding it is only concerned about the country. He reiterated his stance that the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike was a conspiracy to sabotage peace talks.
He further said that a friend would never damage peace process the way US did it.
The federal government should ask the US for assurance that it would not conduct drone strikes during peace talks with the militants, he said.
The PTI chief said it was first time that any political government was going to hold talks with the Taliban as only the army did so in the past.
To a query about certain Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers involved in corruption, he said that all ministers were being monitored closely and action would be taken against those involved in illegal practices.
He said that the provincial accountability bill was recently passed and a working body based on the law would take care of such incidents. inp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk