Cause of peace: Talks with Taliban only option, says Nawaz

Incoming PM refuses to give timeframe for ending power crisis.

LAHORE:

Days after his faction of the Pakistan Muslim League swept to victory in the parliamentary  polls, Nawaz Sharif told newly elected lawmakers on Monday that there was no other option except to negotiate with the Taliban in the interest of peace.

Alluding to the outlawed group’s peace overtures before the election, Nawaz said the Taliban invitation for dialogue should be taken seriously.

Speaking about the strategy evolved by his party vis-a-vis the Taliban, Nawaz said, “The bullet is not a solution”.

“We want to use each and every option; every issue has to be brought on the [negotiating] table for a solution.”

Pakistan, according to Nawaz, has no other option apart from engaging the Taliban in talks.



The PML-N leader made these remarks at Alhamra Hall while addressing newly elected MPs from among his party, including independent candidates who have thrown their weight behind the PML-N and given it a simple majority in the lower house.

Apart from the Taliban threat, Nawaz also spoke about the country’s economic situation and indicated the steps his government intended to take to spur its early revival.

Six MPs elected from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas Nazir Khan Wazir, Bilalur Rehman, Shah G Gul, Dr G G Jamal, Sajid Turi, Bismillah Haji have joined the PML-N.

Nawaz also did some number crunching, counting the human and material cost of delaying the dialogue process with the Taliban. “We have lost around 40,000 lives, wasted billions of dollars and ruined our economy as a result,” said Nawaz. “Why can’t we start dialogue with the Taliban and make our country peaceful?”



On the economy

An atmosphere of peace will revive the economy and end the energy crisis, Nawaz said, adding that the nation will be able to observe a change within the first 100 days as the country gets on the “right track.”

He acknowledged that it was difficult to decide as to which economic problem should be addressed first: the return of loans worth Rs16,000 billion, an end to the circular debt or new development projects for the country. Making a decision was all the more challenging as the previous government led by the PPP had left the national kitty empty. He said that he was in close consultation with Senator Ishaq Dar on how the PML-N could solve the conundrum.

Dar has been asked to find a way out of a circular debt worth of Rs500 billion in order to give temporary relief to the public from load-shedding. There would be a one-time payment in this regard, he said. Through effective management, the PML-N leader said his party would try to rid the nation of the energy crisis.

Nawaz said he intended to reduce government expenditure by up to 30 per cent. “I do not want to set deadlines -- but we will try to complete in months those tasks that take years.”

Provincial set-ups

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Nawaz said he could have played the role of a spoiler yet he chose to adhere to the constitution and allow the PTI to form its government.

In Sindh, he said that the centre would provide support to the PPP-MQM coalition and help it curb violence, improve law and order and revive the economy. However, he warned that he would not tolerate any killings in Karachi.

In Balochistan, Nawaz said his party was ready to form a coalition government. In this regard, the party has already approached some of its coalition parties in the province.

Commenting on the structure of the centre, Nawaz said that his party had won 124 National Assembly seats and thanks to the inclusion of many independent candidates the PML-N now enjoyed a simple majority.

He added that if any party had reservations in working with the PML-N, the winning party will address on its own the country’s challenges. He said his meeting with Imran Khan was to seek his support and share his views on forging a common agenda for the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2013.