Petition in Pak court seeks opening of Taliban office

A petition has been filed in a Pakistani court requesting it to allow the Taliban open their office in the country in order to hold peace talks with the Nawaz Sharif government.
Advocate Kashif Mahmood Sulemani filed the petition yesterday in the Lahore High Court, making ministries of interior defence and finance respondents in the case.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf chairman cricketer- turned-politician Imran Khan had asked the federal government to allow Taliban to set up their office in Peshawar so that peace dialogue with them could be facilitated.
He had cited the example of establishing Afghan Taliban's office in Qatar.

The petitioner says allowing Taliban to set up their office in Pakistan would help start and facilitate the dialogue process.
According to charter of United Nations, no sanctions can be imposed on Pakistan for holding talks with Taliban, he asserts.
He says: "Surgical strikes against Taliban in Pakistan is a grave mistake. Pakistan has been suffering a huge economic and human loss since it joined the US war on terror after 9/11."
The petitioner prays to the court to direct the federal government to allow Taliban set up their office in Pakistan and start peace dialogue with them without any delay.