November 23, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 12, 1428

TIMERGARA, Nov 22: A Malakand peace jirga comprising some ulema and leaders of political parties pledged on Thursday to make all possible efforts to maintain peace in Lower Dir.

The jirga meeting was, however, not attended by senior leaders like Senator Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sirajul Haq of the Jamaat-i-Islami, former provincial ministers Hussain Ahmad Kanjoo, Shah Raz Khan and Bakhtiar Mani.

Convened by Noorul Wahab Bacha of the JI, the jirga participants discussed the law and order situation in Swat and the nearby areas and expressed the fear that lawlessness might spread to other parts of Malakand.

They said the use of force was not the solution to any problem and accused the government of deliberately using force in Swat to create a law and order situation there. It demanded of the government to immediately halt the military operations in Swat and Shangla districts.

They also demanded enforcement of the Sharia Regulation and Adl law in the Malakand division. It also sought powers from the government to mediate between supporters of Maulana Fazlullah and the government.

The jirga was attended by JI’s Lower Dir amir Maulana Ahmad Ghafoor Ghawas, JUI’s district amir Maulana Zahid Khan, PML-N’s district president Muhammad Rashid, PPP’s Muhammad Zaib Khan, ANP’s district president Bahadar Khan, ANP’s district general secretary Azam Khan, JUI’s former district amir Qazi Fazlullah Roghani, former tehsil nazim Timergara Sultanat Yar advocate, Dir bar acting president Hazrat Rehman advocate and other notables of the area.

The meeting decided that more jirgas would be held in Buner, Upper Dir and Mingora to mobilise the people to resolve the Swat crisis.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the nazims of union councils in Lower Dir was held in the jirga hall of the DCO’s office with district coordination officer Dr Attaur Rahman in the chair. The participants of the jirga extended their cooperation to the administration in maintaining peace in the district.