Pakistan must talk to Taleban, says JUI leader

The government of Pakistan should hold serious talks with the Taleban in the larger interest of the country, said the central leader of the Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) party, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, here on Monday.
Talking to Arab News before leaving for Pakistan after performing Umrah, Haideri said he strongly believed that if serious efforts are made to bring Taleban to the negotiating table, progress could be achieved in improving the law and order situation in the country.
Responding to a question over Pakistan’s ties with India, the JUI leader said India would never be able to realize its dream of becoming a superpower in the region. Referring to the checkered history of the two countries, he said that India always accused Pakistan of everything that went wrong on its side of the border.
“Be it the Mumbai attacks of 2008 or the attack on the Indian Parliament, India instantly starts a blame game without providing incriminating evidence. We can never accept India as a superpower.”
He said that Kashmir was a key issue and no secret deal would be allowed on this matter. “We will never allow anyone to betray the trust of the Kashmiris.”
JUI, Haideri said, would continue to maintain its current stance on India.
Describing the recently held elections — which saw for the first time in the history of Pakistan, transition of power from one elected government to another — as rigged, the JUI leader said he had never experienced such elections in his lifetime.
Haideri accused members of the Frontier Constabulary and other government officials of casting bogus votes. He said that results of the elections were carefully manipulated to confine the Pakistan People’s Party to Sindh, to throw Imran Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf out of Punjab and to strip religious parties of whatever mandate they enjoyed.
Criticizing the previous PPP-led government over its failure to solve the basic problems of the people, Haideri advised the current government — which his party is a part of — to make all-out efforts for the eradication of the problems facing the nation.
He said that his party joined the government to help it solve the ongoing problems as according to him all political parties had to play their roles in that regard.