All is not lost for the Awami National Party’s (ANP) proposed all-parties conference (APC), hinted Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday.
Addressing his party members, Fazl, who had earlier refused to attend any APC convened by ANP, added his own touch to attempts aimed at holding a meeting of major political forces. He proposed that the services of a tribal jirga formed by his party could be used to begin the dialogue.
The ANP has called for major political parties to attend an APC to form a counterterrorism policy and strategy on talks with militants.
The JUI-F head said he had talked to ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and informed him about the grand tribal jirga that was formed in November after consultations with over 4,000 tribesmen. “Asfandyar told me that the presence of such a jirga means half the job is done.”
He claimed both the militants and government can approach this jirga for talks, as it is a tribal jirga “in the real sense of the word” and represents all tribesmen regardless of political affiliations.
Severely criticising the ANP government, the JUI-F chief said there was no writ of the state in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa resulting in the ongoing bloodshed. He added the province was under an undeclared martial law as the civilian government has failed to do its job properly.
Talking about his own party, Fazl said the JUI-F is against the use of force, whether it is from militants or military and only believes in peace. “Those sitting in Peshawar and Islamabad have no right to decide on the future of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas,” he said.
Fazl said that if the people want a religious alliance they should vote for the JUI-F keeping its parliamentary performance of blocking anti-Islam legislation and representing the Islamic point of view both inside and outside Parliament.
The forces ruling Pakistan have failed and turned the country into a security state instead of a welfare state, said Fazl. He added the country’s internal debt had spiralled beyond acceptable limits. “This country is being run on foreign aid, according to the wishes of our foreign paymasters. Unless it has a leadership that can unite the nation and utilise its resources it cannot come out of its present predicament.”
He also lamented the current foreign policy saying that Pakistan can play an effective role in bringing peace in Afghanistan, but the political leadership has squandered the opportunity to do so.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 28th, 2013.