Special cabinet session: Govt won’t allow peace process to derail, says PM

Nawaz says peace cannot be achieved ‘by unleashing senseless force’.

ISLAMABAD:

The government has ruled out any major shift in its US policy in the aftermath of the American drone strike that took out Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud – a strike earlier dubbed by the government an ‘attack on the peace process’.

Yet, come what may, Islamabad will pursue the peace process it initiated with the Taliban, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told a special meeting of the federal cabinet on Monday.

“The federal cabinet has decided to respect the decisions of the all parties’ conference (APC) and pursue dialogue for peace. We will not let dialogue with the Taliban derail,” he added. “Pakistan has the right to take its decisions on its own according to its interests.”

The prime minister admitted that Friday’s deadly drone strike damaged the government’s efforts to restore peace through dialogue. “Drone strikes have severely damaged our efforts for peace talks… if cooperation cannot be extended then at least the process should not be damaged.”

The premier, however, told the cabinet that the government would not take any drastic step while reviewing its bilateral relations with the United States, an official privy to the meeting told The Express Tribune.

“National interest and national security is the top priority for our government. On such matters decisions are not taken on emotional grounds…  We have to think a thousand times of the consequences,” the official quoted the premier as telling his cabinet.  The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on record.

The premier pointed out that unabated drone attacks indicated that Pakistan’s viewpoint on the establishment of durable peace and elimination of terrorism on a sustainable basis has not been understood.

Nawaz said the APC proved that the entire political and military leadership‚ people‚ media and civil society wanted an end to terrorism and militancy through serious and meaningful dialogue. The international community also wants an end to bloodshed.

He said Pakistan has paid the highest price of terrorism, rendering unmatchable sacrifices. “We are fully alive to the severity of the issue, but we should be allowed to address our problems according to our own strategy,” he added.

The prime minister recalled his recent statement in which he revealed the start of peace dialogue. “The ice was melting and contacts had been established from both the sides. Amidst this scenario, the drone strike inflicted serious damage to the government’s efforts for dialogue and peace.”

Earlier, Interior Minister Nisar briefed the cabinet on the sequence of events that took place before and after Friday’s drone attack, reaction of political parties to the incident, its possible fallout and ramifications across the country, the preparedness of security forces and the options available to the government.

Officials from the Foreign Office told the prime minister that the American side has clearly conveyed them that Hakimullah was among top three high-value targets set by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US side doesn’t feel a need to explain further.

The unnamed official told The Express Tribune that the option of blocking Nato supply routes was not discussed in Monday’s meeting. The prime minister said that the military leadership would be consulted on the issue.

After briefings by the interior minister and foreign ministry officials, the prime minister directed Chaudhry Nisar to take all parliamentary leaders into confidence to set a future roadmap for talks with the Taliban.

Earlier in the day PM Nawaz warned peace could not be achieved ‘by unleashing senseless force’. Though he did not mention the drone strike directly, he stressed his desire to “give peace a chance”.

“My government is firmly resolved to bringing the cycle of bloodshed and violence to an end.

“But it cannot be done overnight, nor can it be done by unleashing senseless force against our citizens, without first making every effort to bring the misguided and confused elements of society, back to the mainstream,” the premier said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2013.