Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today directed a recently formed four-member committee to immediately initiate peace talks with the banned Pakistani Taliban.
Talking to members of the committee here, he expressed his desire to achieve the objective of peace through negotiations.
The committee should immediately establish contacts with groups and factions that are ready to take part in the dialogue process, he said.
Noting that the committee is fully empowered for the dialogue process, Sharif directed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to provide required information and resources to the panel.
The meeting was attended by all members of the committee - veteran journalists Irfan Siddiqui and Rahimullah Yusufzai, former diplomat Rustam Shah Mohmand and former Inter-Services Intelligence officer Maj (retired) Muhammad Amir.
Siddiqui will act as the committee's coordinator.
