0
ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: A two-member team, comprising NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah and Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, formally started on Wednesday a process of dialogue to find out a political solution to the Wana situation.
The two-member committee was constituted by the federal cabinet in its meeting in the morning. The cabinet reiterated the offer of amnesty to foreign elements living in tribal areas in and around Wana and assured them that they would not be handed over to any country if they surrendered and agreed to live in peace.
Presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the cabinet was briefed by the NWFP governor on the ongoing action against foreign terrorists and militants in a part of South Waziristan Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
The government assured elected tribal representatives that no more military operation would be carried out in Wana or surrounding areas till the process of talks concluded.
The government, informed sources said, was highly perturbed over the sharp reaction in tribal areas of the recent PAF planes' bombings that had killed some 60 tribesmen and wanted to pacify the angry tribesmen by asking the local elders to calm down the sentiments of the people.
The government team held a detailed three-hour meeting with the elected representatives from Fata and decided to send a tribal delegation to the area to hold meetings with the tribal leadership to resolve the crisis.
It decided that a 21-member committee would visit the area to enter into talks with the tribal elders and to assess the situation arising out of the economic blockade and other sanctions slapped on the tribesmen of South and North Waziristan agencies.
Both the government team and the Fata legislators agreed in the meeting that the situation prevailing in South Waziristan was a national issue which ought to be resolved by keeping tribal traditions in view and through talks and understanding.
According to an official handout, there was consensus among the participants that the issue had "erupted due to the presence of some foreign elements which will not be allowed to become a political issue and Fata legislators will try to resolve it through their mutual understanding."
A delegation, comprising legislators belonging to Fata, will soon visit Wana and chalk out its strategy for resolving the issue. Maulana Merajuddin, who is elected from Mehsud tribe of South Waziristan, told Dawn after the meeting that the two-member government team had consulted the tribal legislators on ways and means to reach at a peaceful solution.
He said Maulana Abdul Malik, a MMA MNA from Wana, was leaving Islamabad for his home on Thursday where he would arrange meetings with the concerned tribal jirga and then remaining members of the committee would reach there to initiate the dialogue process.
The Maulana said the Fata legislators during the meeting impressed upon the government to lift economic sanctions from the tribesmen and also to release their elders nabbed without their involvement in the issue.
On the other hand, he said: "We have not committed anything about handing over of the foreigners to the government since it was not our mandate." He said they had made it clear to the government team that tribesmen had their centuries-old tradition of resolving issues and that they would never accept solutions by dint of force.
The NWFP governor also briefed the federal cabinet about the situation prevailing in the tribal areas following the use of air and ground power in the area as a result of which a massive exodus has started in the area as people in large numbers were shifting to other cities.
Fata legislators, including two federal ministers Ajmal Khan and Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Senators Hameed Afridi, Mateen Shah, Sajjad Hussain, Eng. Rashid, Hafiz Abdul Malik and Tahir Iqbal Orakzai and MNAs Maulana Merajuddin, Maulana Abdul Malik Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, Maulana Khalil, Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid, Maulana Mohammad Sadiq, Munir Khan Orakzai and Dr Nasim Afridi participated in the meeting.
SOVEREIGNTY TO BE DEFENDED: Earlier, the cabinet reiterated its resolve to defend the sovereignty, integrity and security of Pakistan and to take any measure necessary to eliminate militancy and terrorism from the country, an official handout issued here said.
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz declared that as a sovereign state, Pakistan could not remain silent to the acts of terrorism and militancy on its soil.
He said the government had, therefore, assigned the Pakistan Army to act against all such elements. The government, he asserted, was following a two-track policy by also engaging the local tribes in a process of dialogue through the political committee appointed for the purpose.
Mr Aziz said the government would maintain its ability to control and eliminate the terrorist elements from the area while continuing to engage the local residents through the political process.
"We cannot allow any area of our country to be a sanctuary for the aliens and action being taken against them was in the best interest of Pakistan itself," he reiterated.
The premier said the government would continue to focus on the development programmes now underway in Fata to ensure construction of roads and access to educational institutions and medicare to the people.
The federal allocations for this purpose, he said, had already been increased manifold in the current fiscal year and additional funds would be provided if required. He also directed prompt payment of compensation already announced by the local authorities.
The cabinet endorsed the policies of Gen Musharraf on the issue of eliminating terrorism from Pakistan and commended Pakistan Army and other security services for effectively countering foreign terrorists in operations in South Waziristan.
It commended the courage and the role of the military and paramilitary forces deployed in the area and appreciated the fact that they were engaging the militants effectively.
Reiterating the offer of amnesty to the foreign elements, the cabinet emphasized that they could not be allowed to engage in any militancy activity on the country's soil. Militancy could not be allowed even by its own citizens, leave alone by foreigners. It was also decided to broaden the base of the anti-terrorist efforts as this was a national mission requiring a national response.
