Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif: Taliban talks offer to be taken seriously

Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif Monday said Taliban's offer for peace talks should be taken seriously as every issue cannot be solved through use of power and bullet, local media reported. Nawaz Sharif said holding negotiations is the only way to effectively solve problems. "We have lost several lives, our economy is deteriorating.. If Taliban offers us an option to have dialogue, we should take it seriously. Why can't we talk to the Taliban to make our country peaceful?" The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had offered "conditional dialogue" to the previous ruling coalition in February but withdrew it after they did not receive a "positive" response. The outlawed group said last week that they do not rule out a " ceasefire" if the new government "shows seriousness" to their dialogue offer. TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said if the incoming government takes the Taliban talks offer seriously, his group will also come up with a positive response. When Taliban offered dialogue they had proposed the name of Nawaz Sharif and two other Pakistani leaders as guarantors for the success of the talks. However, none of the leaders agreed to be the guarantor.