In a statement issued in Lahore, Pakistan Muslim League -- Nawaz (PML-N) chief
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...
said that the Pakistani Taliban's offer of peace talks should be taken seriously, and that the government should not waste any time in taking concrete steps in that direction.
In a video released earlier this month, the TTP had expressed its willingness to hold talks with the government on the condition that leaders of PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Jamaat-i-Islami provide guarantees to make the exercise fruitful.
Earlier this week, JUI-F chief
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
welcomed the Taliban's "positive" demands for peace talks, and recommended using the platform of the tribal areas' grand jirga for peace negotiations with the outlaws.
In his statement today, Sharif, however, rejected the offer of acting as a guarantor. He said that his party supported the offer of dialogue by the militants, although, keeping in mind the current government's track record, nobody could insure negotiations.