- Senator Zafarul Haq says talks only with those outfits which desist from terrorism
- KP governor gives NWA tribal elders 15 days to ‘tame’ militants, says army will act only if provoked with attacks
- Tribal elders condemn terrorism but criticise government for collateral damage
The federal government on Friday declared that it would only hold talks with terrorist groups willing to talk while outfits which are challenging the state’s writ would be dealt with an iron hand.
This decision was announced in two separate events in Islamabad and Peshawar on Friday.
In Islamabad, Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq told fellow senators that the government had decided to initiate dialogue process with the Taliban in the light of the decisions made at All Parties Conference (APC). He said there are different groups of Taliban and each one of them makes independent decisions.
Haq said that it had been decided to carry out development and administrative reforms in FATA to enable the tribesmen to play their role in national development.
NO OPERATION IF MILITANTS ARE REINED IN:
In Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan reiterated the government’s decision on talks with militants but he categorically told a tribal jirga from North Waziristan that security forces will target the region if violence emanating from there is not contained in 15 days.
“The forces will be asked to exercise restraint if the situation remains calm and peaceful in NWA,” he said.
The jirga comprising leading tribal elders and ulema was headed by Haji Sher Muhammad Khan, grandson of freedom fighter Haji Mirza Ali Khan commonly known as Faqir Epi.
The jirga ended after Governor Abbasi agreed on giving 15 days time to the tribal elders to consult fellow tribesmen and other clans on how to rein in militants operating in the areas. “In the meantime, security forces will remain at standby but any provocation would be responded in kind,” he said.
Earlier, soon after the jirga began, Sher Muhammad Khan condemned the recent acts of terrorism in the country, including attacks on security forces. However Khan was also critical of the collateral damage due to the recent military action in Mirali region.
He said that the deadly attacks had caused unrest all over NWA and the situation was leading to mass exodus of tribesmen. He appealed for the announcement of a ceasefire from both sides so that a jirga could work to bring the two sides on the dialogue table.
Maulvi Gul Ramzan, a close aide of militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar was also part of the jirga. His presence at Governor’s House is being seen as efforts to woo back Hafiz Gul Bahadar who had been a pro-government commander since Sept 5, 2006, but announced revocation of the peace deal after attacks on militant hideouts in NWA.
CORPS COMMANDER MEETS JIRGA:
In the meanwhile, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Khalid Rabbani met a 64-member tribal ‘Jirga’ from North Wazirastan Agency at Corps Headquarters on Friday and said that with the support of tribal brethren all terrorists from North Wazirastan Agency will also be cleansed as they have disrupted the law and order in the entire agency.
“We will stand by the tribes to restore writ of the state and rehabilitate and rebuild the agency like in Swat and rest of FATA on the model as done in areas cleared earlier,” he added.
According to ISPR here, the Jirga pledged full support to Pakistan Army and assured that they will stand should to shoulder with security forces.