No Afghan peace ‘till foreign troops gone’

JUI-S says target will remain elusive even in Taliban are approached

PESHAWAR:  

The Afghan government wants Darul Uloom Haqqania chief Maulana Samiul Haq to help normalise the situation in Afghanistan, however, even if the Taliban are approached, the nation will not accept foreign troops on its soil, Jamiat-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-S) central spokesperson Maulana Yousaf Shah informed The Express Tribune.

“Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Omar Zakhilwal have been calling upon Haq, considering him to be the only person in Pakistan who could help restore peace in Afghanistan,” Shah said, adding it will not be possible till the United States is present in the country.



Shah said that JUI-S has scheduled a political gathering in North Waziristan, the first one of its kind to happen in the area, while adding that more gatherings will be held in the South Waziristan Agency, Sadda and Jamrud. In addition, he said, the public will also be asked if they want to be merged into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Later, while talking to the media at the Peshawar press club, Shah stated that Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) could only be restored when there was consensus on its objectives from all parties. He also said that so far only one meeting was held and there was a long way to go in MMA’s restoration.

Earlier, JUI-F’s (Fazal Faction) Jamrud president Maulana Ateeq announced that he will be quitting and joining the JUI-S. Ateeq was disgruntled by Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s approach towards Fata’s merger with K-P, which he deemed to be against the tribal people’s interests.