DHAKA: Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said he still wants to hold peace talks with the Taliban, despite a wave of deadly attacks in recent months.

Sharif named a four-member team to pursue negotiations with the militants.

In a rare address to the National Assembly, he said ‘terrorism’ must be defeated, either by talks or force, and he was giving peace a last chance.

Pakistan’s Taliban vowed to step up attacks after a drone strike last year killed their leader Hakimullah Mehsud.

His successor, Mullah Fazlullah, has ruled out peace talks and promised revenge.

To many people in Pakistan the country’s political leaders appear impotent in the face of the militant threat as the attacks have soared, correspondents say.

Sharif, who was elected last May, is under mounting pressure to try to bring the violence under control.

‘I am sure the whole nation would be behind the government if and when we launch a military operation against the terrorists, but I want to give peace a final chance,’ he told members of parliament in a televised speech.

He said he, too, was tired of the attacks and he would do everything possible to bring peace, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1912 HRS, JAN 29, 2014