LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq says the government should give serious consideration to the Taliban demands if it does not want more bloodshed in the country.

During a press conference here on Friday, he said the Taliban were simply demanding a peace zone for talks where there was no danger of attack and the release of about 300 non-combatants. He said there was no harm in accepting these demands for freeing the country from terrorism.

Mr Haq said the talks were not the issue of the two “Sharifs” it was an issue of the country’s solidarity and the nation’s future. Therefore, both the Sharifs should be on one page for making the talks successful.

Replying to a question, he said the dollar price was falling continuously but the prices of flour and other eatables were not coming down because the ruling elite was not ready to treat the masses on equal footing.

Answering another question, the JI chief said that in order to hold fair, free and impartial elections, an independent and autonomous election commission on the pattern of that in India must be set up that did not yield to any pressure from any quarter.