12 January 2004	Monday	19 Ziqa'ad 1424

PESHAWAR, Jan 11: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam has asked the federal government to halt the army operation in the troubled South Waziristan Agency and resolve the matter through negotiations.

The general council of the JUI-F, which met here at Darul-Uloom Sarhad on Sunday, criticized the federal government for launching an operation in tribal areas ostensibly for flushing out Al Qaeda and Taliban militants and to arrest their local sympathisers.

A party spokesman said the meeting expressed concern over the prevailing situation in South Waziristan Agency and asked the government to resolve the issue in accordance with tribal customs and traditions.

He said the JUI believed that the federal government should have taken the NWFP government into confidence before launching the army operation in the area.

The spokesman said the MMA-led government in the province had been sidelined and direct involvement of the Centre could create a serious law and order situation in the entire tribal belt.

He said that such extreme and ill-planned steps could lead to major crises as the situation across the Durand Line was already volatile. The council, the spokesman said, demanded of the government to stop operation in the agency, otherwise the JUI would hold protest meetings in the NWFP and Fata. Earlier, the general council expressed satisfaction over the performance of the MMA government in the province.