Peace maker: 24-year-old hopes to make peace with Taliban

He plans to visit 41 seminaries on his way to North Waziristan.

MULTAN:

“The true of message of Islam is peace. I will convey this to the Taliban and hope that they drop their weapons and become peaceful citizens,” said AD Jutt, a 24-year-old who left for Peshawar from Multan on a bicycle on Sunday.

Jutt, a resident of Bahawalpur Sukha Colony, said that he wanted to lead the negotiations with Taliban. The 24-year-old shopkeeper said he was taking a dozen packets of flowers for the Taliban, “to persuade them to become peaceable”.

Jutt plans to ride a bicycle from Multan to Peshawar, then to North Waziristan. He says he will stop at 41 seminaries on the way to North Waziristan and talk to religious students about peace.

“I’m carrying no weapons. I will offer no resistance and I’m not even carrying a mobile phone,” says Jutt, “I think this will help me build trust.”



Talking to media before starting his journey, Jutt said the Taliban were justified in asking for Shariah law in Pakistan, but violence and killing innocent people was not the way to go about it. “No religion allows murder,” he says.  Jutt, who himself supports a beard and claims to be a devout Muslim, says the problem is rooted in the lack of knowledge about religion. “Very few people decide to inquire about references from the Holy Quran and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), especially where murder and terrorism are concerned. That is why some terrorists think their actions are justified, he says. “I really don’t think the Taliban will kill me or kidnap me for my efforts,” Jutt says. He expects to return to Multan in four weeks. His family and friends wished him luck before he set off.

Salman, one of his friends, said, “I’m worried about his life. I have asked him not to proceed to North Waziristan and return after reaching Peshawar. I hope he takes my advice.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2013.