Tribal jirga to start talks with Taliban, forces for peace

The grand tribal jirga elders will begin talks with the Taliban militants and the security forces to end violence in the tribal regions and the country.

A declaration issued at the conclusion of a day-long grand ‘jirga’ or council of tribal elders and top political and religious leaders if Pakistan also called for setting up of a trust to financially support those who have lost people in violence the tribal regions.

The conference was organized by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) party and attended by major political parties and tribal leaders, also agreed on using the platform of the grand tribal ‘jirga’ for peace negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban, the JUI-F chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman told a news conference at the conclusion of the moot.

Pakistan’s government should take immediate steps to initiate peace talks with Taliban militants, a declaration of the Jirga and the All Parties Conference (APC) said, and also called for discussing ways to restore peace in the country’s restive tribal areas.

The five-point declaration also agreed on expanding the membership of the grand tribal jirga to include political and religious leaders of the country, who will approach the militants, the government, security forces and other stakeholders.

The declaration also emphasised on taking steps towards peace, keeping in consideration the law and the writ of the government.

The main ruling Pakistan People Party (PPP) and the leading opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), assured their complete support for steps taken for the establishment of peace in the country.

The tribal elders will hold talks with governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Friday to discuss with him his role in the proposed peace talks, Maulana Fazal said.

Earlier addressing the conference, main opposition leader Nawaz Sharif urged all political parties to play their due role in meeting challenges faced by the country.

Sharif said that the offer of dialogue by the Pakistani Taliban should be taken seriously. He said that today not only Pakistan, but the entire region was plagued by terrorism.

President of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, Makhdoom Amin Faheem said that his party would support every step taken for peace in accordance with the Constitution.

Taliban had offered conditional peace dialogue to the government earlier this month. However, there has been no progress so far as the government is asking the Taliban to stop attacks before the talks are to be started and appoint ‘serious’ team for dialogue.

Taliban have ruled out a ceasefire and their spokesman says that halt to attacks could be a topic on the agenda when the negotiations are started.

Taliban had offered dialogue in a video message on February 4 and had sought guarantee of three senior political leaders, including Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, organizer of the jirga.

The Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, who appeared in the video, says the Taliban are willing to hold talks with the government and that Taliban still await the government’s response.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Feb 28 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.