The Pakistani Taliban wants five well-known political and religious figures including ex-cricketer Imran Khan to represent them in peace talks with the government, according to a statement from the militant group Sunday.
Khan’s party said he was unlikely to accept the role. But the Taliban statement is one of their clearest signs to date welcoming the negotiations proposed by Pakistan’s prime minister.
‘The Taliban want to negotiate with the government with full sincerity and seriousness,’ the group said in an emailed statement. It said the group ‘evolved a consensus on setting up such a team that could contact the government’s team easily, and that could relay the Taliban’s view to the government and Muslims of Pakistan effectively.’
Khan, whose Tehreek-e-Insaf party runs the government in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Taliban’s tribal strongholds, said in a statement that the Taliban should select is own members as representatives. However, he said his party will discuss how it ‘can be of further assistance to further the dialogue.’
Khan is strongly pro-negotiations and has led a campaign against US drone strikes targeting militants in the northwest.