DHAKA: Pakistan’s powerful army chief General Ashfaq Kayani said the army supports the government’s policy of dialogue with the Taliban to end the insurgency wracking the country.

The main Pakistani political parties last month backed a government proposal to seek negotiations with the militants, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against the state since 2007.

But the umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction, a loose coalition of militant groups led by Hakimullah Mehsud since 2009, responded with a list of preconditions.

These included a government ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border where the militants have hideouts, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 2018 HRS, OCT 12, 2013
RoR/RIS