Karzai to release all Pakistani prisoners, says Fazl

Published October 14, 2013
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman - File photo
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman - File photo

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Monday that Afghan president Hamid Karzai has assured him of the release of all Pakistani prisoners languishing in Afghan jails.

The JUI-F chief said this at a press conference here after returning from his visit to Kabul, the Afghan capital, to meet the Afghan president and member of the High Peace Council of Afghanistan.

The visit of the five-member delegation from JUI-F aimed at increasing understandings between the people of the two nations. Led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, it also comprised of Jan Achakzai, Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan, Maulana Abdul Wasey and Mufti Ibrar.

Fazlur Rehman met with members of the Afghan High Peace Council in Kabul, where both sides discussed the role of the JUI-F leader and other religious leaders with regards to the situation in Afghanistan.

The delegation also met with President Hamid Karzai at the Presidential Palace in a meeting also attended by senior Afghan government officials, members of the peace council, ministers and lawmakers.

A statement issued by the presidential palace said both leaders had called for cooperation against terrorism.

The JUI-F chief has long supported the Afghan Taliban and their fight against foreign troops in Afghanistan. However, it was widely reported that the Taliban had not taken well to news of Fazl's meeting with Karzai and his government officials

According to a statement reported in the media, the Afghan Taliban said the meeting would have no affect on their stance against Karzai’s government. A report said they viewed the visit as "a deliberate ploy to weaken the Taliban."

Fazlur Rehman, however, declared that the meeting had been a success, adding that it had managed to accomplish more with respect to peace in three days than the past eight years.

Speaking about the Taliban’s statement with respect to the visit, he insisted that the Afghan Taliban bore JUI-F no grievance.

He further stated that JUI-F was in complete accord with the Taliban view to remove foreign troops from the area, adding that war was never the solution.

The JUI-F leader however, excused himself from revealing further details of his meeting with the Afghan president.

Opinion

The perfect man
19 Aug 2021

The perfect man

Imam Husain exemplified perfection in every sense of the word.
Return of the Taliban
Updated 18 Aug 2021

Return of the Taliban

The new dispensation in Afghanistan will be required to alleviate the concerns over human rights issues.
Aid and debt
Updated 18 Aug 2021

Aid and debt

The fact that aid is for the giver and not the taker is proven in the methods that have been used for its disbursal.

Editorial

19 Aug 2021

Militancy concerns

HAVING made their way to Kabul like a hot knife through butter, the Afghan Taliban are saying all the right things ...
Horrific assault
Updated 19 Aug 2021

Horrific assault

There is a tremendous amount of work to be done to correct the public narrative around women’s rights.
19 Aug 2021

Decreasing FDI flows

THE consistent decline in FDI flows into Pakistan in recent years should worry our economic managers. The net flows...
Price of US follies
Updated 18 Aug 2021

Price of US follies

The birth of terror organisations like the Islamic State and Al Qaeda are by-products of America’s ideologically fuelled policies.
18 Aug 2021

Grotesque stunt

EVEN by the standards of the megalomaniacal Narendra Modi, it was an astonishingly ill-timed publicity stunt. A few...
18 Aug 2021

Facilitating SMEs

THE new three-year State Bank refinance scheme — SME Asaan Finance — for providing collateral-free bank loans to...