MINGORA, March 7: The government claimed it had made a breakthrough when it handed over on Saturday 12 Taliban militants to Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Mohammadi and assured it that Qazi courts would be set up by March 13. In return Taliban said they would allow the reopening of all roads.

The deal was reached at a meeting of representatives of the government, TNSM and Taliban at the Circuit House in Gulkada.

The freed Taliban were handed over to the TNSM delegation at the office of the Malakand commissioner. They were identified as Saifullah, Abdul Jalil, Shafiullah, Naveed Akbar, Zahir Jan, Asif Khan, Sardar Ali, Islam Shaha, Gul Zamin, Syedullah, Jalat Khan and Mohammad Naveed.

Two members of the NWFP government’s task force —- Information Minister Mian Iftikhar and ANP’s provincial chief Mian Afrasiab Khattak —- had arrived in Mingora on Friday to hold a meeting with TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Mohammad.

“We discussed some confidence-building measures to improve the situation,” Mian Iftikhar said.

He said the government had agreed to free militants who had been cleared by security agencies, adding that it was willing to free more militants.

In return, he said, militants had agreed to remove their ‘checkpost’ in Qambar, near Mingora, and said they would stop patrolling the area. He said girls’ schools had been reopened. “As of today, girls have started going to schools.”

The minister said that the government would begin appointing Qazis next week and promulgate the Nizam-i-Adl Regulations soon.

“The draft … has been finalised. The chief minister may sign it today or … tomorrow. We are confident that President (Asif Ali) Zardari will sign it soon. He is fully on board,” the minister said.

Mian Iftikhar said that the situation was returning to normality gradually. “We went around the main market in Mingora. It was as normal as it used to be previously.

“Obviously, there are spoilers who want to sabotage the peace agreement, but we need to work together to foil their designs.”

Taliban leader Mehmood Khan said Taliban would stop patrolling the G.T. Road and other areas.

Maulana Safiullah, a top TNSM official, said “we are satisfied with the progress of talks and things are going in the right direction”.
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