Policy statement: ‘Pakistan needs to hold talks with Taliban too’
JI ameer blames US for Pakistan’s woes.
“Karzai’s non serious attitude could obstruct the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops, which would be harmful both for Afghanistan and the US,” says Syed Munawar Hasan. DESIGN: JAMAL KHURSHID
LAHORE:
Pakistan’s leadership should stop military operations and open dialogue with the Taliban like the United States, said Syed Munawar Hassan, the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan ameer, on Thursday.
In a statement, he said after a devastating war lasting over twelve years, Washington had realised the need for dialogue with the Taliban. He said wars could not resolve issues.
Hassan said Islamabad should also open talks with the Taliban without delay. “It is time to make it clear to the US that Pakistan has suffered heavily due to the US war,” he said.
He said the bloodshed of Pakistani citizens should “no longer be tolerated.”
Washington does not have any moral ground to stop Islamabad from talking with the Taliban, he added.
The JI ameer said it was important for the US to pull out its troops from Afghanistan at the earliest. The US has to hold talks with Afghanistan’s real power, he said.
Hassan said President Hamid Karzai’s demand to be a party in the talks was genuine but the main parties were the US and the Taliban.
He said that Karzai was “merely a US tool,” and was trying to sabotage the talks. “Karzai’s non serious attitude could obstruct the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops, which would be harmful both for Afghanistan and the US,” he said. Hasan said Pakistan’s major problems – economic deprivation, terrorism, price hike and lawlessness – were a result of the US interference in its affairs.
“As long as the Pakistani authorities serve the US agenda, the country’s independence, sovereignty and solidarity will remain in danger,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.
Pakistan’s leadership should stop military operations and open dialogue with the Taliban like the United States, said Syed Munawar Hassan, the Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan ameer, on Thursday.
In a statement, he said after a devastating war lasting over twelve years, Washington had realised the need for dialogue with the Taliban. He said wars could not resolve issues.
Hassan said Islamabad should also open talks with the Taliban without delay. “It is time to make it clear to the US that Pakistan has suffered heavily due to the US war,” he said.
He said the bloodshed of Pakistani citizens should “no longer be tolerated.”
Washington does not have any moral ground to stop Islamabad from talking with the Taliban, he added.
The JI ameer said it was important for the US to pull out its troops from Afghanistan at the earliest. The US has to hold talks with Afghanistan’s real power, he said.
Hassan said President Hamid Karzai’s demand to be a party in the talks was genuine but the main parties were the US and the Taliban.
He said that Karzai was “merely a US tool,” and was trying to sabotage the talks. “Karzai’s non serious attitude could obstruct the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops, which would be harmful both for Afghanistan and the US,” he said. Hasan said Pakistan’s major problems – economic deprivation, terrorism, price hike and lawlessness – were a result of the US interference in its affairs.
“As long as the Pakistani authorities serve the US agenda, the country’s independence, sovereignty and solidarity will remain in danger,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.