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According to reports, Pakistan on March 12, 2012 invited militant groups including the Taliban for peace talks and said banned organisations would be delisted if they “closed down their militant wings”. It would be worth noting that Pakistan has banned more than 30 militant outfits, including al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). “If the proscribed organisations assure us that they have closed down their militant wings and abandoned extremism, then we would like to meet them in next few days,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters. “We have been contacted by several banned organisations that want to sit and talk. If they want to give up militancy we will talk to them as we are revising the list of proscribed organisations,” Malik added. 1
In another development, according to reports, Pakistani investigators and lawyers are travelling to India this week to gather evidence for the prosecution of seven suspects linked to the Mumbai attacks of 2008, when 166 people were killed. The visit is the first of its kind, and comes after Pakistan indicted seven alleged conspirators in 2009 but has since said it needs to gather more evidence in India before proceeding further. New Delhi says Pakistan’s attempts at prosecution have been a “facade” and insists it has already handed over enough evidence to convict the accused. 2
In other developments, according to reports, the Pakistan government on March 14, 2012, reiterated its stand on the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, stating that the project was still viable. “There are always a multiplicity of funding sources which are available for any project,” said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar when asked about the Chinese bank’s apparent withdrawal, after her meeting with her Swedish counterpart. ”This is a fairly viable project and we hope we will not have any problem in trying to find ways and means of ensuring its funding,” she added. 3
- 1. “Govt revisiting list of banned terror groups”, Dawn, March 12, 2012 at http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/12/govt-revising-list-of-banned-terror-group...
- 2. “Pakistan lawyers travel to India for Mumbai prosecution”, Dawn, March 13, 2012 at http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/13/pakistan-lawyers-to-india-for-mumbai-pros...
- 3. “IP gas pipeline project still viable, says Khar”, Dawn, March 14, 2012 at http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/14/ip-gas-pipeline-project-still-viable-says...