Pakistan political parties agree to hold talks with Taliban

ISLAMABAD: All the major political parties of Pakistan have unanimously decided to hold talks with the Taliban.

The All Parties Conference (APC) chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended after day long deliberations with all stakeholders agreeing on six-points communique to tackle the issue of terrorism.

It was decided that the federal government in collaboration with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will oversee the state of affairs in the volatile FATA region, where country’s armed forces have been battling a TTP led insurgency. The issue of drone attacks would be raised at the United Nations if the need arose.

The moot decided to let chief ministers of Balochistan and Sindh resolve the issue of surging violence and militancy in their respective provinces.

According to a resolution passed by the APC, the Army Chief, ISI Director General and Interior Minister briefed the moot about internal and regional situation.

The participants expressed resolve to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. However they said that previous efforts to curb militancy didn't produce desired results.

The resolution said that the political leadership expressed solidarity and support for the country’s armed forces to cope with the challenges of national security.

The APC called on the federal government to consider the option of taking the issue of US drone attacks to UN’s Security Counsel as they were a setback to country’s efforts to tackle extremism and terrorism.

The conference lamented that the international community had been reluctant to acknowledge the sacrifices rendered by people of Pakistan.