The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday offered to hold unconditional talks with the Government if it stopped military operations against them. The offer was made by Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar, who said the militants were also willing to lay down their arms if the military stopped operations against them.Security forces are now conducting operations against militants in the Bajaur tribal region and the Swat valley in the NWFP.“We are willing to negotiate with the Government without any conditions,” Maulvi Omar told BBC Urdu service claiming the Taliban are loyal Pakistanis, who do not want to threaten the country’s integrity and sovereignty.“We are also willing to lay down our arms once the military ceases operations against us,” Maulvi Omar said. The Taliban would also ask militants in Pakistan not to interfere in the affairs of Afghanistan, he added.The local Taliban did not want foreign militants in the region and would help the Government to remove them. “We can set up a shura (elders) committee to liaise with the authorities in removing such people,” Maulvi Omar said. He said it was useless to debate the security situation in Parliament without taking the Taliban into confidence. “What is the use of discussing the situation without talking to us?” he asked.The Taliban’s offer for parleys came amid a special joint session of Pakistan’s Parliament to review the overall security scenario and to forge a homegrown anti-terror policy. President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Yousuf Raza Gilani have said the Government is willing to talk to all militants who lay down their arms.
