Negotiating committee: JUI-F, Imran say ‘goodbye’ and ‘good luck’

TTP considering names of journalists Orya Maqbool Jan and Ansar Abbasi.

ISLAMABAD:

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman faction) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – the two avid supporters of peace talks – wished the proposed dialogue luck and excused themselves from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s intermediary committee.

The Taliban had nominated five prominent figures — PTI Chairman Imran Khan, JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Prof. Mohammad Ibrahim, JUI-F politician Mufti Kifayatullah and Lal Masjid prayers leader Maulana Abdul Aziz — to act as intermediaries between them and the government’s negotiating team.

But the JUI-F declined the offer for ‘two reasons’: the government did not consult the party, and a grand Jirga of tribal elders was a better option. “We cannot back out from the commitment to the jirga,” said JUI-F leaders who gathered in the federal capital on Monday to devise their strategy.



The party claims that the committee nominated by the Taliban didn’t have the support of the tribalpeople. “I pray for the success of peace talks,” said Maulana Fazlur Rehman, while announcing his party’s decision to disassociate from the process.

Addressing the media after the party’s advisory committee meeting, he announced, “Mufti Kifayatullah will not be part of the committee proposed by the TTP for negotiations with the government.” The JUI-F is, however, ready to extend cooperation to the government, he added.

Later speaking in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazl referred to a grand Jirga held in Islamabad in February last year and said, “All parties had decided to move forward through this forum (the Jirga) for talks with the Taliban.”

Criticising the government’s four-member committee, he said the magnitude of the issue was much greater than the efforts being made.

Also addressing the lower house of parliament, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “The Taliban should nominate their own representatives for dialogue with the government’s committee.” Clarifying that the TTP did not seek PTI’s before proposing the party chief’s name, he said, “Imran Khan has his own party. How can he represent the Taliban?”

“We give our best wishes to the dialogue process. But it should be done by Taliban representatives. The PTI-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government will facilitate the process,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, PTI’s core committee reaffirmed its support for the government’s committee in which PTI has its representative, Rustum Shah Mohmand.

According to a media statement, the PTI said it would support the talks but five ‘guiding principles’ must be observed: “1.) It (the talks) must be within the parameters of the Constitution; 2.) there must be a ceasefire from both sides; 3.) the talks must be open and transparent; 4.) the prime minister should demand the US end drone attacks; and 5.) timelines [must] be fixed once talks commence.”

TTP saddened

TTP central spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid said they had proposed the names of Mufti Kifayatullah and Imran Khan for their committee because the former was a religious figure, while the latter had made some ‘good statements’.

Speaking to journalists by the phone from an undisclosed location, Shahid expressed disappointment over the two leaders declining to be part of the committee, The names of journalists Orya Maqbool Jan and Ansar Abbasi were being considered as replacement, he added. “The two names were under consideration from day one.”

The Taliban have reportedly convened a meeting of their Central Shura on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2014.