JI calls for immediate ceasefire from both sides

Lahore: Ameer, Jamaat e Islami, Pakistan, Syed Munawar Hasan, has said that both the government and the Taliban should immediately ceasefire to ensure the success of the talks.

Addressing the large Friday congregation at Mansoora mosque, he said that the Taliban should refrain from such behavior as might obstruct the talks’ process. Similarly, the army should stop operation in Tribal areas to pave way for talks success.

Stressing that there was no substitute to dialogue, he added that even  talks failed dozens of times, an operation was not the substitute. If talks could be held with Pakistan’s sworn enemy India for six decades or with US and NATO, why not with the Taliban, he asked. Talks should continue as long as these produced positive results, he went on to say.

Syed Munawar Hasan welcomed the Ulema moot convened by Maulana Samiul Haq here on Saturday on the issue and stressed that the leaders of religious parties and the Ulema should unite on  one point agenda- to carry the talks to success.

He said that as long as the government and the armed forces were not on one page and the Taliban were given an assurance that the agreement arrived at would also have army’s backing, the talks could not go ahead expeditiously. Therefore, the Prime Minister, the army chief and the ISI chief should meet the Taliban committee for removing their reservations on such issues. He also counseled the Taliban to stop their activities so that the anti talks lobby did not get any excuse to play up and obstruct the talks’ process. He said that  the secular lobby in the country was much disturbed over the talks and the prospects of a peace between the government and the Taliban as it was still pursuing its agenda.  Accordingly, these elements were chiding the government and blaming it of  cowardice, and provoking it to crush the Taliban by force. In such a scenario, the Taliban should also move wisely and foil the enemy designs.

Syed Munawar Hasan termed as totally unjustified the verbal storm over the PTI chairman Imran Khan’s remarks in the National Assembly.  He said that army operation could be successful against an enemy but there was no possibility of its success against our own citizens.