JI chief demands dialogue with Taliban in Pak

Lahore, May 16 (ANI): Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawwar Hasan has asked the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led Government to initiate peace talks with the Taliban, saying if dialogue can be restarted with India then there should also be no harm in deliberations with the extremist outfit.

"If composite dialogue can be held with India again and again, why not to engage Taliban of our own country," The Dawn quoted Hasan, as saying.

Hasan said in order to counter the immense pressure being applied by the US on Pakistan to start an offensive in North Waziristan, the government should 'immediately' stop using force against the extremists and try to engage them in talks.

He said that while the Swat Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad was accused of violating the Constitution, other political parties continue to defy the country's charter with the government turning a blind eye towards them.

"(Former President) General Pervez Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice but instead of punishment, he was given a red carpet farewell," Hasan told media persons here.

He also claimed that the government had scraped the peace agreement inked with Sufi Muhammad under Washington's pressure. (ANI)