LAHORE - Although the bombing of a Peshawar church on Sunday has shaken the world, there is no reason to despair of the possibility of talks between the Taliban and the government, says Mr Javed Ibrahim Paracha, a former MNA who is trying to bring the two sides on the table.
“I am trying to lay the foundation; talks will be held by those to be nominated by the government and the Taliban”, he said while talking to TheNation on Monday. He was asked to comment on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement that after the Peshawar attack the government was unable to move forward on peace talks. Mr Paraacha said it was the question of country’s security and for this he was willing to go to any extent.
He said so far the talks had not started and the two sides had also not announced a ceasefire.  Therefore, he implied that the church attacks had brought no qualitative change to the situation. In his opinion, TTP’s denial that it was responsible for the Sunday attack was a positive development.
He said the Taliban were in contact with him, but it was for them to mandate a team for talks.