BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, trumpeted a grand plan yesterday for reconciliation aimed at ending the violence tearing Iraq apart, but faced criticism for providing little detail and avoiding the key issue of negotiating with the most active Sunni insurgents.

The plan offers an amnesty to those Sunnis willing to lay down their arms and join the political process, provided they have not committed major crimes. Islamic terrorist groups blamed for some of the worst atrocities are regarded as beyond the pale and are excluded from the offer.

Listing examples of bloodshed and chaos, Mr. Maliki, a Shiite, said, “We must put an end to this ugly picture.”

The plan is aimed principally at undermining the insurgency within the Sunni community, which has been disaffected since the downfall of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.

It offers the speedy release of thousands of detainees not facing serious charges and creates a national commission for reconciliation. The plan also envisages the disbanding of Shiite militias accused of murdering hundreds of Sunnis in sectarian revenge.

The initiative contains no timetable for withdrawal of foreign troops, but calls for a rapid buildup of Iraqi forces so they can take over. American and British diplomats reportedly have been in touch with insurgents, hoping to convince them that the plan is serious.

Mr. Maliki’s initiative does not aim for reconciliation with Islamist terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, and hardcore Baathists who want Saddam’s regime back.

“It must not be thought that an initiative for reconciliation means dignifying and accepting the killers and criminals,” he said. “No, and a thousand times no, for there can be no truce with those people until they receive their just desserts through fair justice.”

But Mr. Maliki promised a review of laws barring members of the Baath Party from public office and the military.

The initiative is widely seen as the last hope of pulling Iraq back from the brink of civil war, and stabilizing the situation so that the American-led coalition can withdraw its troops without triggering chaos.

It was reported yesterday that American generals were planning to more than half the number of combat troops stationed in Iraq by the end of next year.