QUETTA: The Ittehad-i-Millat Conference held here on Sunday to promote sectarian harmony in the country, criticised the government’s decision to hold peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and said that holding dialogue with terrorists was not in national interest.

Addressing the conference, leaders of the Sunni Ittehad Council and Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen threatened a long march on Islamabad if a military operation was not launched against the Taliban who were involved in terrorist acts across the country.

Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Sahibzada Hamid Reza, Farhat Shah of Minhajul Quran, Senator Faisal Reza Abidi of the Voice of Shuhada and MPA Syed Reza Agha said that the Sunnis and Shias were united against terrorists.

They said the government’s plan to hold talks with the Taliban was tantamount to strengthening and encouraging the terrorists who had been killing innocent people and attacking mosques, Imambargahs, schools and hospitals.

They alleged that the remnants of the Zia establishment were sponsoring talks between ‘two factions of Taliban’ and said that selection of five politicians as Taliban’s representatives should serve as an eye-opener for the public because the TTP’s decision clearly showed that the five in fact belonged to just another faction of the Taliban.The leaders said the Nawaz Sharif government, his negotiating team and terrorists had joined hands to complete the agenda of the Zia establishment, but the united force of Sunnis and Shias would frustrate their designs and would never compromise with terrorists.

They maintained that if the ruthless killers of thousands of innocent people could be forgiven then what was the fault of those prisoners in jails who had committed minor crimes.

They claimed that they were following the path of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and Hazrat Imam Hussain to maintain and strengthen brotherhood and solidarity among Muslims.