ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday invited the Pakistani Taliban to play cricket, saying members of the outlawed group were avid viewers of the matches Pakistan played and that the approach will end up in a positive outcome, DawnNews reported.

He was speaking to media representatives after striking a few shots during an event where he was the chief guest.

Nisar said the Taliban appeared to have much interest in cricket, adding that they should drop the path of war and mayhem and instead play cricket.

The Taliban have already demonstrated that they were keeping abreast of latest events in the world of cricket when they discussed Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq in a video released on the internet.

He said Pakistan was suffering because its enemies were bent up wanting to spread terrorism in an otherwise peaceful country.

Earlier on Thursday, the minister had reiterated the government’s stance that bloodshed and dialogue with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan could not go together, but expressed the hope that deadlock in the peace process will end soon.

He had said that violence and talks were opposed to each other and, therefore, killings must be stopped to pave way for resumption of peace process. He had moreover indicated that contacts with Taliban at some level were still intact, which apparently was the basis of his optimism.

The minister also referred to the problems facing Pakistan cricket, saying unknown forces did not want international cricket in the country.