QUETA: President Mamnoon Hussain has said that the governor and chief minister of Balochistan have been assigned the task of opening peace talks with Baloch militant leaders.

Talking to journalists at Governor House here on Wednesday, Mr Hussain expressed the hope that ongoing talks between the government and the Taliban would succeed.

“The government has opted for talks to bring an end to militancy as most conflicts in the world have been resolved through dialogue,” he said, adding that the use of force always remained the last option which was adopted after talks failed.

“We hope that Baloch militants will shun militancy and join mainstream politics because protection of people’s rights and their well-being can be only ensured in a peaceful atmosphere.”

The president called for joint efforts to persuade the angry Baloch leadership to come to the negotiation table.

The centre needed cooperation of the federating units to overcome the challenges of terrorism and economy, he said.

In reply to a question, the president said the government realised that a sense of deprivation prevailed among the people of Balochistan because the province had been ignored in the past. But the present government is determined to provide more funds to it than it needed, he added.