ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said on Wednesday that the government should itself mediate the peace talks with militants and the army should not be made part of the process, DawnNews reported.

Talking to media representatives the senior leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said that including the Pakistan Army in the dialogue process with militants was dangerous adding that the role of the armed forces was neither to hold negotiations nor make deals.

He demanded the government to hold talks on its own without involving the army.

The opposition leader also said that he had no objections to any person's involvement in the peace talks as long as they were not serving personnel of the armed forces.

He was of the view that no serving personnel should be involved in the talks though retired personnel could be included in the process.

Expressing the sensitivity of the situation, Shah said that a dangerous scenario would emerge in case the talks failed.

Answering a question over the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Shah said he had not discussed the matter with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yet.