Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Monday announced dissociation of his party from the ongoing peace talks between the government and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Addressing a press conference following the meeting of JUI-F executive committee, Fazlur Rehman said the JUI-F will not join the current dialogue process between the two. The decision, he said, was taken unanimously by the JUI-F’s members.
“I pray for the success of peace talks, but I am doubt that such talks will succeed,” he said.
The JUI-F chief said that his party was neither consulted nor informed about the government’s decision to initiate dialogue, however if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif seeks JUI-F’s cooperation, it can change its stance.
Fazl remarked that he was not expressing mistrust on the formed committees, and that he was only informing about the party’s decision.
He said that the Grand Jirga was assured on February 28, 2013 that it will be given a task for the restoration of peace.
“I was the first who demanded to bring the issue in the Parliament,” he claimed. Fazl further said his party leader Mufti Kifayatullah, who was named in the five-member committee by the Taliban, is bound to accept the decision of the party. Mufti Kifayatullah will not be part of the committee suggested by the TTP for negotiations with the government, he added.
He said that the TTP named Mufti Kifayatullah in good faith. The Taliban, however, should have named their own representatives for the committee, he said.
