Security
Pakistan: Top level talks in a bid to end north-west clashes
Karachi, 31 Oct. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - Top level talks were expected to be held late Wednesday between Pakistan 's security forces and pro-Taliban militants in a bid to resolve the fierce conflict in the country's North-West Frontier Province.
Senator Gul Naseeb, a senior leader of the religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), told Adnkronos International (AKI) that a high-ranking delegation was to meet militant leader, and pro-Taliban cleric, Mullah Fazlullah, at a secret location on Wednesday evening.
“I spoke to the governor and the chief minister [of NWFP] this afternoon and sought some guarantees," Naseeb told AKI.
"Now I will speak to Mullah Fazlullah along with some senior Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam leaders including the former chief minister of the province, Akram Khan Durrani,” the senator said.
However speculation about a possible breakthrough came amid reports that Pakistan's helicopter gunships had resumed their attacks on militant positions in the Swat Valley in the NWFP on Wednesday. Militants had reportedly launched several attacks overnight and also fired at an army helicopter.
A ceasefire was called earlier this week after several days of clashes between the Pakistani security forces and militants left 60 rebels and several soldiers dead. The government had launched an operation in the Swat Valley against Mullah Fazlullah, who uses an FM radio station to broadcast calls for jihad, or holy war.
Authorities are afraid that the Swat valley is becoming a haven for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The government sent in around 2,000 troops to quell the growing militancy.
The cleric's spokesman had said that the militants were demanding the enforcement of Sharia law and the withdrawal of troops from the valley.
Gul Naseeb told AKI that the implementation of Sharia or Islamic law had been approved and the government had guaranteed its implementation.
On Tuesday the Pakistani TV channel Aaj broadcast a story showing the local population in the Swat valley hostile to the Pakistani military and instead showing their support for loclal rebels, whom they called Mujahadeen (holy warrior).
The television showed footage of local people collecting money for the militants. The report claimed that in three hours 1.5 million Pakistani rupees or 24,500 US dollars was collected.
Former senior minister of NWFP and chief of the largest religious party, Jamaat-i-Islami, Sirajul Haq held a tribal meeting or jirga in the Swat Valley on Tuesday. He told AKI that officials contacted the militants and Pakistan army leaders and called on both sides to stop the violence.
“We spoke to the militants to remove their bunkers and go back to normal life and asked the Pakistan army to stop their deployment on the roads and return to the Swat (Valley)," Siraj said. "I hope it will work."
Senator Gul Naseeb, a senior leader of the religious party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), told Adnkronos International (AKI) that a high-ranking delegation was to meet militant leader, and pro-Taliban cleric, Mullah Fazlullah, at a secret location on Wednesday evening.
“I spoke to the governor and the chief minister [of NWFP] this afternoon and sought some guarantees," Naseeb told AKI.
"Now I will speak to Mullah Fazlullah along with some senior Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam leaders including the former chief minister of the province, Akram Khan Durrani,” the senator said.
However speculation about a possible breakthrough came amid reports that Pakistan's helicopter gunships had resumed their attacks on militant positions in the Swat Valley in the NWFP on Wednesday. Militants had reportedly launched several attacks overnight and also fired at an army helicopter.
A ceasefire was called earlier this week after several days of clashes between the Pakistani security forces and militants left 60 rebels and several soldiers dead. The government had launched an operation in the Swat Valley against Mullah Fazlullah, who uses an FM radio station to broadcast calls for jihad, or holy war.
Authorities are afraid that the Swat valley is becoming a haven for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. The government sent in around 2,000 troops to quell the growing militancy.
The cleric's spokesman had said that the militants were demanding the enforcement of Sharia law and the withdrawal of troops from the valley.
Gul Naseeb told AKI that the implementation of Sharia or Islamic law had been approved and the government had guaranteed its implementation.
On Tuesday the Pakistani TV channel Aaj broadcast a story showing the local population in the Swat valley hostile to the Pakistani military and instead showing their support for loclal rebels, whom they called Mujahadeen (holy warrior).
The television showed footage of local people collecting money for the militants. The report claimed that in three hours 1.5 million Pakistani rupees or 24,500 US dollars was collected.
Former senior minister of NWFP and chief of the largest religious party, Jamaat-i-Islami, Sirajul Haq held a tribal meeting or jirga in the Swat Valley on Tuesday. He told AKI that officials contacted the militants and Pakistan army leaders and called on both sides to stop the violence.
“We spoke to the militants to remove their bunkers and go back to normal life and asked the Pakistan army to stop their deployment on the roads and return to the Swat (Valley)," Siraj said. "I hope it will work."
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