November 03, 2007	Saturday	Shawwal 21, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Eminent military and civilian personalities have called for constituting a special committee of the Senate to come up with a strategy to deal with insurgency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) through wide-ranging consultations.

The Dialogue Group on Civil-Military Relations, facilitated by the Pakistan Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat), an independent think-tank, also called for an immediate review of the government’s policy in dealing with the tribal areas.

The group reviewed the insurgency scenario in Fata and adjoining areas in its meeting here on Friday.

“The group is convinced that the manner of our participation in the international war on terror is causing deep strains and fissures in the national fabric and is polarising the society,” a press release issued here said.

The group was of the view that the policy required a thorough review and modification.

It has consistently held the position that military operations, whether by the army or the civil armed forces, should be put on hold and a meaningful interactive dialogue started with stakeholders in the tribal areas.

There is a widely-held perception in Fata, as well as in most of the country, that Pakistan is following a US-led agenda in dealing with the tribal areas, the group observed.

“This perception is fuelling the insurgency in FATA. The situation is further complicated by the fact that the state needs to clean the area of foreign elements that find a safe haven there to operate.”

The participants said this scenario could not be dealt with through military operation alone. They also noted with concern that the political process was so fragmented that its ability to deal with this issue on its own was also limited.

The tribal areas require long-term process of improvement of basic services and there has to be a system on ground that can effectively deliver these services, the group believed.

The present government, as well as the new government which will come in through the process of a free and fair elections, would require a wider consultative process to come up with a strategy to deal with the issues in Fata.

This wider consultation, the group proposed, can be made possible through setting up a special committee of the Senate. This committee, involving the eight senators from Fata and other representatives, should be set up immediately and come up with a strategy within the next few weeks by holding consultations with wider segments of society, the participants said.

“The members of the Dialogue Group on Civil-Military Relations, as well as Pildat, can offer their assistance to the committee to come up with a workable strategy.”

The group is also known in the media as “Group of 18” that addressed a letter to President Pervez Musharraf in July 2006, advising him against combining the office of the president with the army chief because it politicises the constitutional office of the presidency and the institution of the armed forces.

The members, who attended the meeting included former Balochistan governor Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, former ISI director-general Asad Durrani, Dr Imran Ali, Lt-Gen (retired) Jamshed Gulzar, Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Lt-Gen (retired) Moeenuddin Haider, former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand, former Punjab Governor Shahid Hamid, former Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, Senator S.M. Zafar, Pildat executive director Ahmed Bilal Mehboob and joint director Aasiya Riaz.