PESHAWAR: ‘Peace pacts in Fata should be strengthened’
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Dec 21: NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai has said peace is a prerequisite for any development endeavour in the tribal areas. Talking to members of two jirgas from the South Waziristan Agency, which separately called on him here on Thursday, Mr Aurakzai said the peace accord with Taliban supporters in the tribal areas had brought normalcy to the situation and efforts should be made to make the same an enduring arrangement.
He urged the elders to “tighten up the loose ends and do the required fine tuning” so that critics did not get any opportunity to find faults in the peace arrangement. He said the situation in Afghanistan historically had a direct bearing on the situation in Pakistan in general and Fata in particular.
“There is a dire need to take a more pragmatic approach for normalising the situation in Afghanistan, so as to be able to achieve the goal of a lasting peace in the region,” he said.
He said a jirga would be held on the Afghanistan issue.
PAKISTAN INDIA TIES: A one-day seminar on Pakistan-India ties was held here on Thursday under the youth training programme of the Actionaid International.
Delivering his keynote address, Adnan Sarwar Khan of the University of Peshawar lauded President Musharraf’s fresh proposals on Kashmir, but said if there was no response from New Delhi, Islamabad should stop showing any more flexibility.
“Kashmir is the core issue harming relations between the two countries. Once this issue is resolved, other issues will be resolved by themselves,” he said.
In his address as chief guest, Prof Dr Haroon Rashid, the vice-chancellor of Peshawar University, urged the students to concentrate on their studies.
The seminar was also addressed by Prof Minhajul Hassan and Prof Ghulam Taqi Bangash of the department of history, University of Peshawar. The seminar was the last in a series of discussion programmes organised by the Actionaid International for creating awareness among the youth on current issues.
On the occasion, shields, awards and certificates were given to the representatives of the Social Welfare and Awareness Society, which supported the Actionaid International right through the series of programmes.
