JI chief joins chorus urging govt to talk to Taliban

JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan stresses that talks necessary to curb crimes in Karachi and Balochistan.

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan joined the chorus to call upon the government to start talks with Taliban for peace and stability in the country.

Addressing the Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque in Lahore, he said that Taliban's offer for talks should be accepted, echoing calls by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) head Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Talks should be started in confidence and in earnest in order to end terrorism in the region and to restore peace and law and order in the country, Hasan added. He said that the dialogue with Taliban was also necessary to overcome the target killings in Karachi and Balochistan, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and other such crimes.

The JI chief stressed that peace was the need of every body and it must be restored at every cost.

Gwadar port transfer welcomed

Hasan welcomed the cabinet's decision to handover the Gawadar port to China from Singapore and stressed upon the government to ensure the implementation of agreement along with security of Chinese engineers.

The JI chief said the pact with China should also carry a provision whereby the residents of Gawadar and other Balochistan cities and towns get jobs at the port. He added that the government should also adopt other measures to remove the sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan.

OIC on Kashmir

Hasan lauded the efforts of Saudi Arabia, and the presidents of Turkey and Egypt, for the inclusion of the Kashmir issue in the OIC group meeting agenda. He also appreciated the effective presentation of Pakistan's stance on the issue by the Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar at the meeting.

The JI Ameer urged the government to tolerate the protests on the drone attacks by those whose kith and kin were being killed and their houses were being razed. It was a pity, he said, that the US think tanks could not realise that the drone attacks were increasing terrorism in the region instead of bringing the menace to an end.