PESHAWAR, Sept 23: The elders from different tribal regions have appreciated the government’s plan of holding negotiations with Taliban, saying they should be taken on board to make the process a success.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday Fata Grand Alliance leader Malik Khan Marjan said that government should consult with the tribal people before initiation talks with Taliban if it really wanted to make the peace process a success.

He said that tribal would support the peace process and play a role in the dialogue. He that the Fata Grand Alliance would hold a tribal jirga on September 28 in Peshawar to decide future line of action in the context of government-Taliban talks for peace.

Flanked by other tribal elders from different agencies including Attaullah, Niaz Mohammad, Mir Saman, Khan Zada, Khaista Khan, Noor Zaman and tribal students, Mr Marjan said that government was going to initiate dialogue process after consultation with the leaders of all political parties and other relevant stakeholders that was a welcome step.

The tribal elder said that before initiating the dialogue, the government should facilitate a tribal consultative jirga to make the efforts meaningful and restore sustainable peace in the region.

He said that foreign intervention was unacceptable in the dialogue process and the government should solely tackle the issue with consultation of tribesmen and relevant stakeholders.

Blaming the successive governments for allowing the growing influence and intervention of foreigners in the internal affairs of the country, Mr Marjan said that the situation was going from bad to worse with each passing day owing to establishment of permanent colonies of foreigners in the country.

Condemning the frequent drone attacks in the tribal areas, he said that despite the increasing grievances among the people the government was not ready to lessen the foreign influence in the country. He said the anti-Muslim states wanted to capture their economy and destabilise Pakistan but they wouldn’t succeed.

Mr Marjan said that tribal people were patriotic and always rendered numerous sacrifices for protection of the country’s borders despite the fact they were deliberately kept backward in all fields of life and subjected to torture and violence through the military operations on the behest of others.

The use of force, the tribal elder said, was not solution to the existing problems and it was need of the hour to start meaningful talks with Taliban to resolve the issue once for all.