PESHAWAR, June 9: President of Awami National Party Asfandyar Wali Khan has said that the proposed Pakistan-Afghan joint jirga may be the last chance for lasting peace in the volatile region, but some elements are trying to derail the process.

“We regret to say that Islamabad is not taking the matter seriously and some quarters are very active in trying to sabotage peace efforts,” Senator Asfandyar Wali Khan said at a press conference at the Bacha Khan Markaz on Saturday.

Pakistan and Afghanistan plan to hold a joint jirga in Kabul in the first week of August to work out measures to counter terrorism and to resolve disputes between the two neighbouring countries.

Mr Khan said that according to the Pakhtun code the jirga should be given full authority to take decisions which were binding on both parties.

“The question is whether Pakistan is ready to give

the Waak (authority) to the joint jirga and to accept its decisions,” he said.

He said the commission headed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao had not approached his party to seek its opinion regarding the jirga, claiming that genuine leadership from the tribal region had also been ignored.

He said Afghan President Hamid Karzai had contacted him and Maulana Fazlur Rehman and other leaders had also discussed the proposed jirga with him. But, he said, the commission members on the Pakistani side had not contacted him. “This shows the lack of sincerity on the part of the Pakistan government,” he remarked.

About the multi-party conference being organised by the PML-N in London, the senator said his party had received an invitation and he would take part in the conference.

“The bottom line is that the MPC must find out a clear-cut answer to the future role of the army and intelligence agencies. Political parties should agree on a caretaker set-up to conduct elections.

“The MPC should develop consensus on the formation of an independent election commission consisting of those judges who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order,” the ANP leader said.

“The ANP believes in delegation of power, not transfer of government,” he remarked, adding that the army should go back to barracks and assume its professional responsibilities.

Mr Khan said the country was passing through the most critical phase of its existence and it was time for all political forces to stand up and unite to cope with the situation. He said there was no other way for the political parties but to launch a joint struggle for the sake of country’s future.

Condemning the May 12 tragedy in Karachi, the ANP leader held the Muttahida Qaumi Movement responsible for the bloodshed and said that the Centre and Sindh government manipulated the situation to divert attention from the presidential reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.