Pro-Taliban Pakistani cleric backs peace talks

ISLAMABAD (PAN-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, welcoming the opening of the Talban’s political office in Qatar, has said the Afghan process lacks depth but must continue.

It was imperative to give Pakistan conflict, he stressed, believing the existing arrangement did not appear to be deep-rooted. “We must remember that Pakistan is an important player.”

After a meeting with UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Jan Kubis in Islamabad late on Wednesday, he told reporters the JUI-F had always opposed the use of force and believed in reconciliation.

While supporting the Doha process, the right-wing politician, known for his clout with the Taliban, urged the US-led global fraternity to focus on reconciliation to bring political stability to Afghanistan and prevent the country from sliding into a possible civil war post 2014.

Earlier, the special UN representative on Afghanistan Jan Kubis met the JUI-F chief and apprised him of the UN’s efforts in the setting up of the Afghan Taliban’s office in Doha (Qatar).

Jan Achakzai, the spokesman for Fazlur Rehman, said the UN representative had linked peace in Pakistan with stability in Afghanistan. Kubis had promised the UN’s continued engagement with Pakistan and other regional countries, he added.

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