CHARSADDA: In an apparent change in his party’s stance over peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan has welcomed reports about the government’s backchannel talks with the militants.
“We want peace at any cost. The ANP held talks with Taliban for peace in Swat,” he said at a news conference at his Wali Bagh residence here on Saturday. “We were the first political party that held dialogue with militants in 2008 and 2009 in Swat,” he recalled.
The ANP believed in peaceful coexistence and couldn’t think of resorting to unlawful acts, Asfandyar Wali said. In reply to a question about the arrest of ANP workers in Karachi, Mr Wali said his party was opposed to violence and would support efforts to restore the rule of law in that city.
“The sacrifices rendered by ANP leaders and workers to end violence are known to everyone,” he said.