ISLAMABAD - Reiterating his government policy of engaging militants in dialogue process to achieve lasting peace in the county, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made it clear that those averse to peace parleys would be dealt with iron hands.
According to government sources, the PM expressed this resolve on Thursday in a meeting with Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, who called on him at PM House to discuss the overall security situation in the country with specific reference to law and order situation in Karachi, Balochistan, KP and Fata.
The army chief shared with the PM the details of terror attacks in Miranshah town of North Waziristan where some nine soldiers embraced martyrdom. The prime minister expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives of soldiers and said "sacrifices by our patriotic soldiers will not go in vain."
While congratulating the army chief and the nation on the successful training launch of Short Range Surface to Surface Ballistic Missile Hatf III (Ghaznavi), PM Nawaz said that government would take all measures to fulfil the budgetary requirements of the armed forces to make the country's defence impeccable.
The sources said that Maj (r) Amir held a detailed meeting in connection with peace talks with Samiul Haq at his seminary in Akora Khattak on Thursday and informed him that before the government team's next direct contact with Taliban shura, the TTP has to announce ceasefire and also have to take tangible steps to show their seriousness toward peace dialogue.
Earlier in the day, the prime minister strongly condemned the attack on security forces in North Waziristan and expressed grief over the killing of soldiers. A vehicle of the security personnel was targeted by a roadside remote controlled device at Ghulam Khan Road in Miranshah which killed nine soldiers and injured several others.