ISLAMABAD: In a bid to avoid further bloodshed in the country, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government still prefers to bring peace through dialogue with the Taliban, the federal minister for information Pervaiz Rasheed said in an interview.
The federal minister said that those who do not understand the language of peace and resort to cutting throats of the innocent people will be dealt with iron hand.
“The government will make a formal announcement if it decides to launch any military operation in North Waziristan,” Rasheed said.
Rashid said that in such a situation all appropriate measures will be taken to take care of the local population like the Swat operation.
Earlier, at least 30 militants were killed when the army launched air strikes targeting militant hideouts mainly in the Shawal valley and Dattakhel areas of North Waziristan tribal region on Tuesday.
The air strikes on the hideouts of the militants in the country’s tribal areas began after peace negotiations with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down last week and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif authorized the army on February 20 to attack militants in the volatile region on the Afghan border.
In a press conference in Islamabad on February 20, the Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that carrying on with peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban amid terrorist attacks throughout the country would be injustice to the victims of such attacks.
