Determined to succeed: JI to hold ‘peace conference’ on April 3

Intends to provide platform to foil any designs on sabotaging dialogue.

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chapter plans to hold a peace conference next month to “foil attempts” to derail peace talks.

The announcement was made by JI K-P provincial general secretary Shabbir Ahmed Khan during a news conference at his party’s provincial headquarters, Markaz-e-Islami. Shabbir told reporters the peace conference will be held on April 3 at Nishtar Hall.

He added Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq along with other political leaders are expected to attend the moot.

He claimed Nisar, Munawar Hassan, Samiul Haq and Pervez Khattak have been sent invitations already.

Shabbir said the aim of the conference is to unite the nation on a single platform for the restoration of peace in the country and foil any designs of those opposed to negotiations.

He claimed talks between the Taliban and government were heading in the right direction and that Maulana Samiul Haq and Professor Muhammad Ibrahim – who are part of the peace committee – had agreed to take part despite the risks involved.

Shabbir termed the talks a “crucial opportunity” for restoring peace in the country and blamed the policies of General (retd) Pervaiz Musharraf for
the “mess”.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2014.