Islamabad: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik has rejected any possibility of holding talks with the Taliban , saying the extremists must lay down their arms ‘unconditionally’ before any negotiations.
In an interview to the state-owned PTV, Malik said the government has been receiving requests from the Taliban for talks, but all such proposals have been duly rejected.
“The Taliban must repent their deeds first and seek unconditional apology from Allah Almighty and the people of Pakistan alike. Then their deeds can be considered on case-to-case basis,” The News quoted Malik, as saying.
“The Taliban have only two options, surrender or flee from the country. No third option is available to them, as Pakistani forces are hunting them,” he added.
Malik said the Taliban’s supply line has been hit hard by the military operations in Swat and South Waziristan, and that they have been forced to flee the region.
Referring to the help the extremists in the tribal regions along the Afghan border are getting from across the border, Malik said Kabul must take concrete steps to cut down the
supply lines, saying most of the arms and ammunitions used by the militants come from Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to devise a common strategy to address the issue of terrorism.
“The implementation of action plan would be started by second week of December when Afghan cabinet takes over,” Malik added.
ANI
First Published: Friday, November 27, 2009, 11:30