Taliban had agreed to accept state writ, claims Fazl

Published July 7, 2014
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.—File photo
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.—File photo

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman claimed on Sunday that the Taliban had agreed to accept the writ of the state, but the government did not pursue the dialogue process seriously which paved the way for the military operation in North Waziristan.

Talking to journalists at an Iftar-dinner at his Ministers Enclave residence here on Sunday, the maulana said he kept on suggesting that the

local tribal jirga be given a role in the dialogue process, but the government paid no heed to it despite the fact that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had kept on assuring him in this regard.


JUI-F chief accuses government of not pursuing the dialogue process seriously


He claimed that at one stage the Taliban had agreed to bow before the writ of the state in the presence of ulema and jirga with conditions that they should not be arrested and tried and that their submission to the state should not be labelled as “surrender” but an act of “reconciliation”, he added.


Related: No timeframe for completion of Zarb-i-Azb: Asif


The JUI-F chief was of the view that the military operation would not result in any permanent solution to the issue of terrorism as militants would continue to fight against the state and create problems for people.

“If the purpose is to push them from existing places then the operation will of course achieve its objective. But if you want to resolve issues with militants, you have to make them submit to ulema and mashrans [elders] and to the state authority,” he added. He warned that militants had already organised themselves in urban areas of the country.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014

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.