The Awami National Party-led moot for evolving consensus among political parties for talks with the Taliban on Thursday called for making “dialogue with militants a top priority” and taking all necessary steps for saving valuable lives and putting the country on the track of economic and social development.
Though the moot had been named All-Parties Conference (APC) for acquiring peace, it suffered a setback after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamaat-e-Islami decided to stay away.
The idea of the APC was floated by ANP’s martyred leader Bashir Bilour, who had vowed to acquire peace through talks with the Taliban, ANP sources claimed, adding that the APC would be dedicated to late Bilour. Besides, religious and political parties, a delegation of Supreme Court Bar Association, the ANP said 24 political parties attended the moot, however, no list of participants was provided to the media, while the sessions of the moot were also kept “in-camera”, reflecting that the participants had not reached a consensus over the strategy to deal with the militants.
The moot was attended by delegations from the PPP, PML-N, MQM, PML-Q, National Party, JUI-F, JUP, BNP-Mengal, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, PML-F, Sunni Tehreek, Hazara Democratic Party, Sunni Ittehad, Sindh United Party, BNP-Awami, Qaumi Watan Party, Jamiat Wahdatul Muslimin, JUI-S, Tehreek-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan-Noorani.
Later, a seven-point joint declaration was issued to the media, read by ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan. Asfandyar told the media that the representatives of 24 parties had signed the joint declaration and none of them disagreed to it. He also disagreed with the notion of the PTI and JI that the APC was a useless exercise as 2013 polls were near.
“This declaration would provide a roadmap for the upcoming government,” he added. The joint declaration for peace said militancy and violence were not an issue for one party, one province or a specific area, but it was the entire country’s problem and the survival and progress of the country depended upon finding relevant solution to the problem. “The survival and progress of our country depends upon finding relevant solutions to the problem, in order that continued democratic and political process help deal with the problem in the long run,” the joint declaration said.
The ANP chief said the participants of the APC believed that the conference was just the beginning of a process that the ANP and the rest of the political and religious parties would continue to undertake.
He added that they appreciated the efforts of the Grand Tribal Jirga for restoration of the peace in FATA. He said the people of FATA and their representatives must know that all parties who participated in this conference stood with them in their struggle for peace. Asfandyar said the conference also demanded to give priority to the problems being faced by the people displaced by terrorism and demanded ensuring restoration of peace so that the affected people could return home.
