ISLAMABAD: A lawmaker for the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Thursday said that party chief Imran Khan's recent statement on Pakistani Taliban was not an official PTI policy statement.

Asad Umar, a lawmaker for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI), stated in a conference that the idea for establishing an office for peacetalks with the Taliban was not an official party policy. He added that the statement only reflected the personal views of the PTI leader.

Umar added that it was wrong to criticise those who wished to use peacetalks as a way to fight the rampant terrorism in the country and come to terms with the terrorists. However, he added that peacetalks go hand in hand with cooperation from the other side.

Umar declared that it was a weakness to insist on peacetalks if terror attacks continued, saying that it was unfair to the country.

Earlier, Imran Khan had stated that it was imperative to have a political office for the Taliban where peacetalks between the government and the Taliban could be held. He insisted that the absence of such an office would hinder negotiations, assisting in the continuation of the decade-long war against terror.

He also referred to the Afghan Taliban office in Qatar officiated by the United States (US) government to facilitate the dialogue process some months prior, stressing that the government should take negotiations seriously.