LAHORE: Representatives of 28 Muslim and non-Muslim organisations and political parties, who attended a conference on Tuesday, appealed to Taliban to stop suicide attacks and urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to hold talks with extremist groups which stood for reconciliation and peace in the country.

The conference organised by Pakistan Ulema Council chief Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi issued a joint statement which said any initiative aimed at bringing about reconciliation should be within the parameters of the Constitution.

The statement urged both the Taliban and the government to adopt the path of peace, and not of war, in accordance with the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

It asked the government to make proper arrangements for people fleeing the tribal areas because of air strikes. They said the displaced people should be resettled properly in their areas once the military operations were stopped.

The conference condemned the threats hurled recently at non-Muslims living in Chitral valley and asked the authorities to provide full protection to them.

It asked government institutions to concentrate on identifying and addressing the main factors behind the current unrest and make changes in the foreign and other policies to bring them in line with joint resolutions of the parliament and recommendations of the all-party conference held in September.

Acknowledging the efforts made by all segments of society and all schools of thought for the creation of the country, the statement expressed solidarity with the citizens who had suffered at the hands of terrorists.

The statement also expressed grief over the killing of 23 FC personnel in Afghanistan and urged the government to lodge a protest with the Karzai government over the atrocity.

It said the nation should be informed of measures being taken for the release of the FC men in Taliban custody since 2010 and for the repatriation of the bodies of those killed in Afghanistan.

The statement said that peace conferences would also be held in Islamabad (March 5), in Khanewal (March 10), in Karachi (March 15) and in Faisalabad (March 19).