KARAK: Chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and head of Taliban negotiation committee Maulana Samiul Haq has said that the negotiation process between the govern-ment and tehreek-i-Taliban has been suspended for the time being.

Addressing to a gathering on Wednesday night at Madinatul Uloom in Warana area, he said that some powerful elements were trying to derail the peace process to pave the way for operation in tribal areas.

The JUI-S chief said that operation was no solution to any problem. He said that negotiation was the only way for restoration of peace in the country. He added that bringing the government and Taliban to negotiation table was their great success.

Maulana Samiul Haq asked the prime minister to play his role in making the negations a success. It would not be good for the government and Taliban if another way was adopted for restoration of peace, he added.

He said that their efforts for restoration of peace would continue. He said that progress would be made in swapping of prisoners after the meeting of both the committees. He added that the statements being issued by the religious leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman were not good for the negotiations in any way.

The JUI-S leader urged Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan to focus on the fire erupted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of doing politics of sit-in. He advised him to focus on restoration of peace in the province by diverting his Tsunami towards the province.

Maulana Samiul Haq said that government and army should encourage them. He added that Taliban didn’t violate the truce. If the elements opposed to negotiations succeeded in their mission then there would be great destruction which would not be controllable, he said.

Through a resolution presented by former MNA Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz, the gathering demanded of the government to resume negotiations with Taliban to restore peace in the country.

JUI-F: Hafiz Ibn-i-Ameen was elected district president of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl unopposed while Maulana Zahoor Ahmad was elected general secretary of the party in the intra-party elections.

JUI-F leader Maulana Waheed Shah informed journalists that the election process was supervised by Maulana Asmatullah and Qari Saifur Rehman.

He said that Hafiz Ibn-i-Ameen, former MNA Mufti Ajmal and Maulana Ameer Shahzada were in the run for the slot of district president of the party but at the eleventh hour the two candidates withdrew in favour of Hafiz Ibn-i-Ameen.

He said that Maulana Zahoor Ahmad was elected district general secretary of the party through secret ballot.

Former provincial minister Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel, Ayub Khattak and Javed Iqbal Khattak were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2014