LAHORE: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said negotiations with the Taliban leadership were possible in the past but there was no appropriate time or circumstances for such an exercise now. He was talking to the media after his meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at Raiwind on Friday.
Fazlur Rehman said the process of preparing a constitutional package for repealing the 17th Amendment was in the final stages. He stressed upon strengthening parliament and implementing its resolutions in letter and spirit.
Thye overall political situation of the country, matters of mutual interest and other national affairs were discussed during the meeting. Referring to his meeting with the chief minister Punjab, Fazl said it was a routine interaction aimed at creating harmony between the political parties. He said such meetings should continue as harmony among the political forces was necessary to save the system. He stressed upon forming a permanent set-up for accountability in the country. He said that the NRO was not an issue of his party as no JUI-F member took benefit of the controversial ordinance.
Referring to the statement of Prime Minister Gilani over the apex court’s verdict on the NRO, he expressed the hope that the government would implement the court’s decision. He said the decision of starting the military operation in Fata was taken by the GHQ and not by parliament. He claimed that he had some concrete proposals for ending terrorism in the country but no one had responded positively.
Our Peshawar correspondent adds: The Swat Taliban have announced their willingness to accept the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan as a mediator for ending the conflict in Swat and the rest of the Malakand Division and bringing durable peace in the area.
A message of the Taliban Shura in Swat was conveyed in an audiocassette delivered to The News (a local newspaper) in Peshawar. It contained a statement in Pashto by a Swat Taliban military commander, who identified himself as Nooruddin Muhammad alias Abu Akash. He said he was the head of the military wing of the militants in Swat.
Praising Imran Khan as a true patriot, sincere Pakistani, good human-being and pro-Muslim politician, Taliban Commander Nooruddin Muhammad said they had trust in him as an intermediary.
“Unlike other politicians, Imran hasn’t sold out his soul. His Qibla is still the holy Ka’aba,” he remarked. He said the Taliban had never closed the door of talks with the government to resolve all outstanding issues. “We are Pakistanis and we don’t want to harm our country. Our objection is to the government’s policy of toeing the US line and fighting its own people at the behest of America,” he argued.
The Taliban commander maintained that the militants only attacked security forces and law-enforcement agencies in retaliation after their homes were bombed and their families were wiped out. He alleged that the CIA, RAW and Pakistan’s pro-US rulers were involved in acts of terrorism in public places and bazaars. Hinting at the PPP and the ANP, he charged that two ruling political parties in Pakistan were pursuing the US agenda.
“They should learn a lesson from the fate of Musharraf who too followed the American agenda. Unfortunately, Pakistan is ruled by politicians who live in Washington and London before coming to power and go back to these places after losing power,” Nooruddin Muhammad said in his audio message. He said that the Swat Taliban head Maulana Fazlullah was safe and presently in a secure place.
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