Pakistani PM vows to pursue Taliban talks

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ISLAMABAD, Nov. 4 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Monday told cabinet ministers that his government will pursue talks with the Taliban despite the killing of Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a recent U.S. drone strike.

The cabinet meeting was called to review the situation following Mehsud's killing as the government accuses the U.S. of sabotaging the proposed talks with the Taliban.

A team of three top religious leaders were assigned the task to visit the Waziristan tribal region last Saturday to discuss exploratory talks with the Taliban on the agenda and venue for the talks, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.

But the visit was canceled due to the U.S. attack in North Waziristan on Friday.

Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the group will not talk with the government and will take revenge of their slain leader.

Prime Minister Sharif condemned the U.S. drone attacks and said the drone strikes have severely damaged the government's efforts for dialogue and establishment of peace but he is confident that the process would not be allowed to be derailed.

"If they (U.S.) cannot extend cooperation to end terrorism then at least the peace process should not be damaged," an official statement quoted the prime minister as saying at the cabinet meeting.

The prime minister said Pakistan has every right to take its own decisions in the interest of the country.

He pointed out that the continuation of the regrettable and condemnable drone strikes indicates that Pakistan's viewpoint on establishment of durable peace and elimination of terrorism on a sustainable basis has not been understood.

He said the parliamentary conference in September, which had called for talks with the Taliban, had proved that the entire political and military leadership, the people, the media and civil society wanted resolution of the issue of terrorism through serious and meaningful dialogue.

The prime minister said Pakistan had to pay the price of terrorism more than anyone else and it is fully conscious of the seriousness of the issue. However, the country should be allowed to resolve the issue according to its own strategy.

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