Pak elders move to initiate talks with Taliban

KABUL, reports said on Saturday.

An all-parties conference — hosted by the JUI-F and attended by mainstream political parties as well as civil society groups in Islamabad — mandated the 87-member tribal jirga to negotiate peace with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

After a meeting with members of the jirga, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Eng. Shaukatullah told journalists in Peshawar late on Friday night he had ordered all political agents to cooperate with the forum of elders in its efforts for making peace with the fighters.

While hoping the jirga’s peace efforts would come to fruition, he said they had discussed modalities and strategy for talks with the militants, according to Dawn newspaper.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who also attended the meeting, said they had shared with the governor their peace strategy. The main objective of the jirga was to initiate result-oriented dialogue, he added.

About compensation for victims of the war on terror, the pro-Taliban politician said the governor had announced a grant of Rs10 million for setting up a trust fund for helping the relatives of martyrs.

PAN Monitor/mud

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