Pak Taliban outlines conditions for dialogue with govt

Peshawar: The Pakistani Taliban has repeated the conditional offer of negotiations with Islamabad, but said they could only go ahead if certain politicians, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief, Nawaz Sharif, acted as guarantors. In a video message handed out to journalists in northwest Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the TTP do not trust the Pakistan army as it has always broken past agreements. He said they need solid guarantors who can assure them about the army, because the army is the real power in Pakistan, reports the Daily Times. He said the TTP needed assurances from Nawaz and the leaders of the two largest religious parties - Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl and Jamaat-e-Islami. Ehsan also urged the Muslim world to unite and condemned the French military intervention in Mali as an "ideological war". He said the forces of "non-believers" were united and urged Muslims to come together. French President Francois Hollande visited Mali on Saturday and vowed his troops would stay as long as necessary to continue the fight against Islamist rebels who had taken control of the country`s north for 10 months. Ehsan condemned the French intervention, which has had logistical support from other Western countries. (ANI)