Involving army in talks will be dangerous: Khursheed

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Wednesday opposed involving the army in negotiations with the Taliban.

He said the government should not involve the army in the dialogue process with the Taliban as only the government itself could go for the dialogue."The army is meant to obey the government orders and armed forces involvement in talks with the terrorists will produce a very dangerous result," he said while talking to newsmen at the Parliament House after the PAC meeting.

The opposition leader said the army works under the government, so by involving the army in the dialogue process, the government had admitted that the army was a separate institution not under it. "The army is only included in such a committee in case of a ceasefire with an enemy country after a battle," he said.

However, Shah said he had no objection if a former member of the armed forces participated in the peace talks. "The terrorists are the murderers of 60,000 Pakistanis and it would be unfortunate to see the army sitting with them," he added.

PR adds: The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Senator Ch Shujaat Hussain said that the army should not be involved in the dialogue with the Taliban. He said the first priority of members of parliament should be national security and solidarity and peoples' problems.

He expressed these views while talking at the luncheon reception hosted by him in honour of the office-bearers of the Youth Parliament.