By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
KHYBER: A crucial meeting between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a 100-member peace jirga from Khyber district was held at a remote location in Tirah Maidan on Monday as an effort to bring back peace in the area, sources said.
The jirga, comprising political and tribal elders, arrived at the Tirah Maidan Bagh centre on Monday morning and, after consulting with local leaders, met with the TTP leadership.
The jirga members included representatives from the Bara political alliance, tribal elders from Bara, Jamrud, and Landikotal tehsils, as well as former members of the provincial assembly. The Bara political alliance was represented by Hashim Khan Afridi, Shah Faisal, Khan Wali Afridi, Haji Shireen and Attaullah Asghar Khan. From Jamrud and Landikotal, Malik Salahuddin, Malik Abdul Razzaq Zakhakhel, Mufti Ijaz Shinwari, Shafiq Sher Afridi and Malik Israr Kukikhel participated, while Tirah Maidan was represented by Maulana Hazrat Khan, Maulana Izzatullah Hamkhyal, head of Bar Qamberkhel national council Zahir Shah Afridi, Kamaluddin and Malik Adam Khan.
The Taliban delegation was led by Oluswal Ghazi Abdullah, Abu Zar Afridi and several field commanders. During the meeting, which lasted for about an hour, the TTP presented two key demands before the jirga.
The first demand was the enforcement of Sharia law in Pakistan. The Taliban leaders stated that they had been struggling for decades to establish an Islamic system in the country, during which thousands of their fighters had sacrificed their lives and wealth. They claimed that it was through such sacrifices that Afghanistan today has an Islamic government and that Pakistani “mujahideen”(the holy warriors) had also played a part in that outcome.
The second demand TTP placed was that they said that, like before the FATA merger, the Taliban should be allowed to operate freely in tribal areas without government interference. The Taliban leaders expressed their wish to see the implementation of Islamic and Sharia law across the country.
After the talks, the jirga decided to convey the Taliban’s two demands to the Government of Pakistan as soon as possible. According to sources, the ceasefire announced in connection with the dialogue process was set to expire tonight on Monday.
Following the meeting, the 50-member jirga delegation returned to Peshawar after concluding the negotiations. A jirga member said that they would soon meet the government officials to convey the TTP message and their demands. He said they were not optimistic that the demands placed by TTP could be accepted.
