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Pakistan will not let US drone strike 'kill' peace talks: Rashid
[Dawn] The Pak government said Saturday it would not allow the death of Pak Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike to derail proposed peace talks.Federal Information Minister Pervez Rashid told news hounds in Islamabad that the government wanted to press ahead with its plan to negotiate with Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP). "We can say that this time drone struck the peace talks but we will not let the peace talks die," Rasheed said. He said the process of peace should not stop despite the TTP chief's death. Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in North Wazoo agency Friday evening, throwing the talks process into doubt a day after the government said it was taking steps to initiate dialogue. Rashid said Pakistain was committed to peace through talks despite losing 40,000-50,000 civilians, soldiers, and police to hard boy violence. "So I am sure that the other party will show the same spirit which we had shown," he said. Opposition politician Imran Khan  ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... condemned the drone strike as an attempt to "sabotage" peace efforts, and called for the federal government to block NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... supplies going through the country. However, ars longa, vita brevis... when asked by news hounds, Rashid said blocking NATO supplies will not end drone strikes. "We blocked NATO supplies in the past after (the incident at) Salala. Drone strikes did not stop then, and will not stop now," he said. When asked if the strike signified a failure of Prime Minister  Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's recent visit to the US, Rashid rejected the notion. "They are two separate, unrelated things. They should not be looked at in this way." Posted by: Fred 2013-11-03 |
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