- Some Pakistani Taliban groups want to talk to government, PM Imran Khan says.
- “I do not believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions.”
- If talks are successful with TTP, government will forgive them, he adds.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is in disarmament talks with some factions of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Prime Minister Imran Khan has said, as the government seeks stability in the country in the backdrop of a fast evolving situation in Afghanistan.
PM Imran Khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, said: “I think some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government. You know, for some peace, for some reconciliation.”
When asked to confirm whether Pakistan is actually in talks with the TTP, the premier clarified to say that talks are ongoing “with some of them”.
He said that the Afghan Taliban are “helping”, in the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan.
The premier said that these talks, for disarmament, if successful, will lead to the government “forgiving” them, “and then they [will] become normal citizens”.
Stressing that he does expect for some sort of deal to emerge with the TTP, he said: “I do not believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions. So I always believe that you know, as a politician, political dialogue is the way forward, which I always believed was the case in Afghanistan with the US.”
The premier noted he always believed that a non-military solution was the only way forward for Afghanistan — and he has reiterated it time and again on national, international forums.
The Afghan Taliban took over Kabul in mid-August, and since then, the country remains in turmoil, with Pakistan continuously urging the international community to support the newly-formed government in a bid to avert a humanitarian crisis, which might led to instability in the region.
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