JI asks PM to seek Mullah Omar’s help for peace

Published February 24, 2014
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan. — File photo
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan. — File photo

PESHAWAR/NOWSHERA: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan has asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seek help from Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar for restoration of peace.

“The prime minister should send a delegation to Mullah Omar and seek his help for the restoration of peace in Pakistan,” he suggested while addressing party workers at the JI provincial secretariat here on Sunday.

He proposed that Mr Sharif should arrange a joint meeting of the two negotiation committees to pave the way for peace in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

He said that the military leadership could also be included in the talks. Prof Mohammad Ibrahim and other leaders of the party were also present on the occasion, said a press release.

Mr Hasan said that durable peace could not be established in any society through the use of force. For instance, he said that the Nato had failed to subjugate Afghanistan and now America and its allies were pulling their forces from the neighbouring country.

“The rulers should realise that peace can’t be restored without table talks,” he said, adding that military operation would create more complications in Fata. He recalled that use of force had resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, and Pakistan could not afford adventurism.

The JI chief said that the Constitution was being violated in Balochistan and Sindh, but the government was not taking notice, while sacrifices of the tribal people were being ignored.

He warned that thousands of people would be rendered homeless if the government launched military operation in Fata. He alleged that the American and Indian lobbies were very active to destabilise Pakistan.

In Nowshera, coordinator of Taliban committee Maulana Yousaf Shah told Dawn by phone on Sunday that he and Prof Ibrahim had handed over a detailed report of their meeting with Taliban political shura to Maulana Samiul Haq, the chief of Taliban negotiation committee.

He said that now Maulana Samiul Haq wanted to immediately convene a consultative meeting of the Taliban negotiation committee to discuss the emerging situation.

Yousaf Shah appealed to both the government and Taliban to show flexibility in their stands for the sake of innocent citizens. “Military operation is not a solution to the existing problems,” he said.

He disclosed that they had contacted the top leadership of Taliban and Taliban political Shura and its report had been presented to Samiul Haq.

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.