ISLAMABAD - Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan, commenting on US contacts with the Taliban to ultimately 'broker a peace deal, has said that it is a clear vindication of his party consistent seven years long years position. In a statement, Khan reiterated that PTI was the party that took a stand seven years back that war was not a solution to the crisis confronting Pakistan. He said they had predicted that the country was heading towards a disaster and their prediction came true. The policy of continuing military action in the tribal belt has only bred more violence and terrorism, causing immense pain and misery to hundreds of thousands of people in the region, he observed. He referred to the recently released Pakistan Economic Survey 2010-2011 according to which Pakistan had never witnessed such devastating social and economic upheaval in its industry, even after dismemberment of the country by direct war. $20 billion has been received in aid from the US while $67.93 billion have been lost to the national economy because of the so-called 'war on terror. This is reflected in increased poverty in the country with more than 50per cent falling below the poverty line. He said 35,000 people, most of them innocent civilians and 3,500 security personnel had lost their lives to this war. There were over one million IDPs in the tribal areas while six million people had been devastated in the war-ravaged belt. This had resulted in increased radicalisation, polarisation and extremism in the society, which was teetering on the brink of total collapse. Money had been diverted from the health and education sectors to sustain the military operation in a country that had the lowest human development index in the world and one of the lowest education-to-GDP ratios. He observed that there was total lawlessness in the country as the police and security forces were engaged in protecting the 'VVIPs and themselves while the ordinary people had been forsaken at the mercy of the criminal mafias patronised by the ruling elite. He said the institution of the armed forces had been severely damaged as a consequence of launching the military operation. Thats why Pakistans enemies were calling it a 'failed state and demanding the initiation of radical steps for securing its strategic assets. He said the army and the intelligence agencies were being assaulted nationally and internationally by elements that wanted to damage the national institutions to serve their nefarious designs. Khan said he wondered as to why the 'corrupt government was on a suicidal mission that created grave economic destabilisation and subjected the army and intelligence agencies to be targeted internally and from external forces that want to destabilise Pakistan. He feared that a continuation of this madness would endanger and imperil the federation. Khan stated that two years back he had offered mediation between the militants and the government of Pakistan with an objective to bring peace to this war-torn area, but the 'stooges in Islamabad did not get an 'NOC from their 'US masters. This puppet government has no credibility in the eyes of the people. Thats why no one is willing to talk to them. He again offered to mediate between the militants and the government if the ruling clique exhibited its seriousness in the matter. Imran Khan warned that Pakistan had been put on a suicidal course that can only lead to destruction. He felt that the government needed to change its course immediately before the predictions of our adversaries would be proved right. Meanwhile Central Information secretary PTI Omer Sarfraz Cheema has stressed the need of extending benefit of the decreasing petroleum prices in the international market to the consumer of Pakistan. He also called for taking immediate steps to end the menace of load shedding. He has strongly condemned the government for its complete failure to overcome the menace of load shedding saying, load shedding was one of the major challenges for the incumbent government but despite lapse of more then three and half years it did nothing then lip service to Improve the situation. The situation is farther deteriorating as shortfall is increasing by every passing day he added.