Sharif for talks with peaceful Taliban

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday met with the four member committee formed to hold peace talks with the Taliban and decided to target the terrorists but negotiate with those who give up terrorism.

“The meeting deliberated on the Taliban’s announcement of a month-long cease fire and the future course of action regarding the dialogue process”, said a senior government official. The Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire after fighter jets and gunship helicopters conducted surgical strikes against militant hideouts in the tribal areas. The strikes were carried out after 20 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) despite the ongoing peace talks.

Following the Taliban’s announcement, the government stopped the strikes. In a statement issued by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan the decision was taken after consultations with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Raheel Sharif.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the installation of CCTV cameras within 48 hours at all courts in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani was hearing the suo moto case related to the terror attack at a court in Islamabad also known as the F-8 Kacheri.

The interior secretary presented details of the attack. According to the report there are 66 policemen normally posted at the court which was attacked. Chief Justice inquired about the number of policemen deployed at the time of the attack and how many of them were armed.

The Interior Secretary told the court that 47 policemen were on duty at the time of the incident but he was not aware of how many were armed. He added that policemen did use their weapons. Later, Chief Justice Jillani ordered the installation of CCTV cameras within 48 hours in all the courts of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and called for the compliance report on Monday.