Amid authorities' assertion that there would be no talks with the Taliban until they surrender,Pakistan's cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has said the militant commanders have contacted him for peace negotiations with the government following his offer to act as a mediator. "The Taliban have contacted me for peace negotiations with the government. But I will only play a mediator's role if the government gives its consent," Khan said,but did not mention which faction of the local Taliban had contacted him. Khan,who heads the Tehrik-e-Insaaf party,has opposed military operations against the Taliban and other militant groups. There has been no response from the government to his offer to mediate with the Taliban. Some leaders of the ruling Pakistan People's Party and sections of the media have criticised Khan for what they describe as his "pro-Taliban" stance. However,the Taliban in the northwestern Swat valley had welcomed Khan's offer to broker peace talks. Khan has called on the PPP-led government to convene a meeting of all political parties to discuss challenges confronting the country. "The government first launched military operations (in Swat and Waziristan) and then took all political parties on board. It must shun this policy," he said. A military operation in the Taliban hub of South Waziristan would not lead to a lasting solution,Khan claimed. "Ultimately the government will have to come to the table to ensure peace in the country. If the US is interested in holding talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan,why is Pakistan holding back?" he asked. Khan is also critical of US drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal belt and of the PPP-led government for toeing the American line in the war on terror. He accused President Asif Ali Zardari of continuing the policies of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. Significantly,the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI),which allegedly provided manpower from its seminaries to install the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan,believes that peace talks cannot be held with the Pakistani Taliban. "Negotiations with the Taliban leadership were possible in the past. It is not the appropriate time for such an exercise now," JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik too has made it clear that the federal government has no intention of holding talks with the Taliban or other terrorists. "They must surrender before any peace talks can be initiated," he said.
