18 religious parties say the govt should only negotiate with the Taliban willing to accept the Constitution of Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Participants in the National Peace Dialogue on Thursday demanded the government to disclose Taliban’s source of funding.
A unanimous resolution passed by representatives of several religious parties urged the government to stop the funds being provided to militants.
The dialogue was held at Jamia Naeemia. It was organised by Naeemin Association Pakistan. Representatives of 18 religious parties of the Barelvi school participated in the dialogue.
Most of the speakers opposed the proposed dialogue with the Taliban, calling it a sign of government’s weakness.
The resolution, read out by Raghib Naeemi, said the government should negotiate with only those were willing to accept the Constitution of Pakistan. They said there should be no dialogue should be held with those challenging the writ of the state.
The resolution urged the government to take all stakeholders into confidence before proceeding with the negotiations.
The resolution said today terrorism was rampant in the country because there was no rule of law. It said there was a trust deficit between the armed forces, the government and the intelligence agencies.
The resolution said holding an all parties conference (APC) was not enough to solve the menace of terrorism. It said that representatives of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat should have invited to the APC called by the government. Participants said the omission had created the impression that it wanted to strengthen the Taliban.
The resolution called for cutting off Taliban’s sources of funding.
The resolution also urged the government to ensure fair treatment of prisoners. It called for strict security measures at prisons to ensure there were no more jail breaks.
The resolution called for a crackdown on militants hiding in the cities.
It said supporters of terrorists had infiltrated the government and intelligence agencies.
The resolution called for a ban on newspapers, magazines and other publications supporting sectarianism, terrorism and Talibanisation. It also demanded equal rights and protection for religious minorities.
Speaking on the occasion, former minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi said, “The Taliban are NATO’s stooges. In the general elections, they supported the candidates who were directly supported by the NATO.”
“I wonder who is supplying weapons to Taliban,” he said.
He said billions of rupees was being spent on counterterrorism activities.
He said a former MNA from Khyber Pakhtunkhawa had told him that if the government gave an assurance that the Taliban would not get support from the government agencies and the armed forces, the provincial government could launch a crackdown on the militants and rid the country of the problem.
He said while the government had reached out to the Taliban for a dialogue, they had continued their attacks.
He predicted that in the end, the government would be forced to use military action against the militants.
Hamid Raza, son of late Fazle Karim, said the operation in Karachi should be appreciated.
He opposed dialogue with the Taliban, saying the government should not negotiate with those who challenged the constitution’s essential values.
He said the Taliban should accept the writ of the state, lay down arms and apologise for killing 50,000 people.
Sunni Tehrik chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri said in the last 113 days, there had been 116 terrorist attacks in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2013.
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