April 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1429

PESHAWAR, April 21: Prospects for the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Peace Jirga seem dim as Islamabad is yet to finalise selection of 25 members for the commission to hold mediation with stakeholders.

Former ambassador to Kabul Rustam Shah Mohmand, who was appointed consultant of the jirga, said a list of 45 people had been dispatched to the federal government to select 25 members for the joint commission, but it had not yet done so.

Citing reasons for the delay, he said the judicial crisis and the general election had overshadowed the peace process between the two countries. The list, he said, could be revised because several former ministers and then governor were no longer members of the jirga.

Mr Mohmand said the Afghan government had appointed its members for the commission. He said it had not cleared whether the Afghan government would give access to the commission members to call on the Taliban.

Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq, when approached, told Dawn that finalisation of the list was in process and names of the members would be announced shortly to start reconciliation process in the region.

A three-day Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Peace Jirga had been held in Kabul on August 9, 2007, which had been attended by about 700 delegates from the two countries, including tribal elders, officials and parliamentarians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Pervez Musharraf and then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had also attended the jirga.

The jirga had decided to constitute a joint 50-member commission having representation from Pakistan and Afghanistan to hold talks with different groups in the war-ravaged country for bringing lasting peace to the region.

Mr Mohmand said the Afghan government’s condition to hold talks only with those groups who would lay down arms had diminished future of the peace process. He said negotiations without involving main stakeholders, including the Hizb-i-Islami of Gulbadin Hekmetyar and the Taliban, might not be fruitful.

Another major hurdle, he said, was whether the United States would allow the commission to hold talks with all stakeholders and abide by the decision of the commission.