KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday forwarded the name of former Senator Farhatullah Babar to be made a part of a jirga that is holding negotiations between the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and the government, a PPP press release said.
The decision was taken after PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen talked to Bilawal over the phone and requested him to include Babar’s name in the PTM jirga.
“During the conversation, Bilawal reiterated PPP’s stance of finding peaceful resolutions to important issues through dialogue and showed satisfaction over nominating Farhatullah Babar to the jirga.”
Around 30 people have already been nominated by the PTM for the reconciliatory jirga comprising of PTM leaders, sans Pashteen, along with members of other political parties, including Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP).
Initially, the PTM started peaceful protests for fulfillment of five demands, including awarding exemplary punishment to the murderers of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud, removal of landmines and release of missing persons. Now, the leaders of the movement are calling for the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to resolve all issues being faced by Pakhtuns in Pakistan.
The PTM leadership had also demanded that the truth commission should look into target killings of Pakhtuns in Pakistan, demolition of houses and businesses by state organs in the tribal areas, missing persons, and other issues being faced by the second largest ethnicity in the country.