Sharif chairs meeting of Taliban talks` committee

Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday chaired a meeting and issued guidelines for holding negotiations to the four-member committee formed to facilitate talks with the Taliban.

The meeting discussed in detail the framework and strategy for the talks, Dawn online reported. Sharif had only one precondition for the talks - that there be no terrorist attacks during the negotiations. The committee comprises Irfan Siddiqui, the prime minister`s advisor on national affairs; Rahimullah Yusufzai, a senior journalist; Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs and Amir Shah, a former ISI official. The committee will be assisted by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The prime minister had announced Wednesday that his government had decided to give peace another chance by pursuing negotiations with the Taliban militants despite recent attacks on security personnel.