Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says talks with the country's Taliban insurgents have begun.
A statement by the Pakistani High Commission said that Sharif told British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in a meeting on October 31 that he "hoped and prayed the dialogue works within the constitutional framework of Pakistan."
Sharif added that his government "could not wait and see the innocent people being killed in the streets of Pakistan."
Earlier this week Sharif took part in a trilateral meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron and the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in London.
After winning parliamentary elections in May, Sharif's conservative Pakistan Muslim League political party has advocated negotiations with the Taliban as a preferred means of ending their decade-old insurgency.
More than 50,000 Pakistan soldiers, civilians, and militants have been killed in the unrest.
A statement by the Pakistani High Commission said that Sharif told British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in a meeting on October 31 that he "hoped and prayed the dialogue works within the constitutional framework of Pakistan."
Sharif added that his government "could not wait and see the innocent people being killed in the streets of Pakistan."
Earlier this week Sharif took part in a trilateral meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron and the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in London.
After winning parliamentary elections in May, Sharif's conservative Pakistan Muslim League political party has advocated negotiations with the Taliban as a preferred means of ending their decade-old insurgency.
More than 50,000 Pakistan soldiers, civilians, and militants have been killed in the unrest.