Maulana Samiul Haq predicts ‘good tidings’

Prof Ibrahim says TTP and govt ready for a truce.

NOWSHERA/ PESHAWAR:

The Taliban’s intermediaries struck an upbeat note on the success of the nascent peace initiative on Monday following their first face-to-face interaction with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s political council. They held out the hope that the “nation will soon hear good tidings”.

Two intermediaries of the three-member group – Jamaat-e-Islami’s Prof Mohammad Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf Shah, who was representing JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq – met with the nine-member Taliban Shura, headed by Qari Shakil, at an undisclosed location in North Waziristan Agency on Saturday and Sunday. They passed on to the Taliban a five-point agenda spelled out by the four-member government negotiating team.

“I am very much hopeful about the peace talks. I can say with confidence that the negotiations will be successful,” Maulana Samiul Haq, the convener of the Taliban intermediary committee, told a news conference at his seminary, Darul Uloom Haqqania, in Akora Khattak on Monday.

He was flanked by Prof. Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf who earlier briefed him on the outcome of their two-day talks with the Taliban Shura.

“The TTP has given a very positive response,” he said, without sharing details with the media. “The discussions between the Taliban leaders and the intermediaries are a national trust – which is why we cannot give you details at this point in time,” he told journalists.

“Although the issue of a decade-old war cannot be solved overnight, we are very optimistic,” he added. “The nation will soon hear good news. I’m saying this with confidence in light of the outcome of the first round of meetings with the Taliban.”

The peace initiative is a crucial national issue which warrants a realistic and pragmatic approach, Maulana Sami said, warning against emotionalism during the process. He advised against creating controversies over the thorny issues of ‘constitution and Sharia law’ in the peace dialogue.

“The Taliban have consensus on holding talks within the ambit of the Constitution. We appeal to the people from all walks of life to pray for the success of talks for the sake of this country,” he said. He added that the Taliban Shura has responded to all points put forth by the government negotiators. The JUI-S chief also revealed that Maulana Yousaf has been made a formal member of the Taliban intermediary committee. The third member of the Taliban committee – Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz – has refused to partake in talks unless his demand for enforcement of Sharia law was not on the agenda.

Speaking at a separate news conference at his party’s provincial headquarters, Markaz-e-Islami, in Peshawar, Prof. Ibrahim said that the government and Taliban were apparently willing for a truce and that the negotiators from both sides were trying to make this happen.

Prof Ibrahim said he and Maulana Yousaf had shared the government’s five-point agenda with the Taliban Shura. “The Taliban leadership responded to the government’s agenda and sought some clarifications,” he said but refused to share details with the media.

He brushed aside media report about a 15-point charter of demands from the Taliban as ‘nothing but mere speculations’. The Taliban’s response to the government initiative was ‘very positive’ he said and hoped that the dialogue would help restore peace in the country.On the occasion, the Taliban intermediary also sought media’s help in ‘frustrating the designs’ of those who wanted to sabotage this process. “We would have to foil the spoilers’ attempts to disrupt the peace talks,” he added.

About their stay in Waziristan, he said that they were driven to an area, some four-and-a-half kilometers south of Miramshah town, where they met with the Taliban Shura. He said that they could clearly hear the buzz of US pilot-less aircraft hovering overhead when they were in Miramshah.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th, 2014.