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

Throttling connectivity
Updated 15 Aug, 2024

Throttling connectivity

Now the authorities seem to have decided that WhatsApp has replaced X as the new staging ground for dissent and are tightening the noose.
Targeting TTP
15 Aug, 2024

Targeting TTP

Is slapping on a new label on a hard-core terrorist outfit the right strategy, especially when the label is also imbued with religious meaning?
Transgender justice
15 Aug, 2024

Transgender justice

Our policymakers still see this community as a slur, making political commitment to justice for transgender people a distant dream.
Rebuilding a dream
Updated 14 Aug, 2024

Rebuilding a dream

"True" independence — and not in the sense of a political slogan — can only be achieved when Pakistan’s children are assured of a better tomorrow.
A general’s arrest
14 Aug, 2024

A general’s arrest

A PAKISTAN Army general who had once seemed all-powerful has been arrested by his own institution for a list of...
No exceptions
14 Aug, 2024

No exceptions

CAREER civil services officer Rashid Mahmood Langrial, who recently became the ninth person to be appointed head of...