Jirga members give up effort to revive peace talks with militants

The inter-tribal jirga tasked with the responsibility of reviving the 10-month-old peace deal between the Pakistan Government and militants in volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has suspended its efforts to revive the agreement.

Peshawar, July 25 : The inter-tribal jirga tasked with the responsibility of reviving the 10-month-old peace deal between the Pakistan Government and militants in volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has suspended its efforts to revive the agreement.

With both sides refusing to give space for negotiations, it seems that inter-tribal jirga has suspended its efforts to revive the agreement reached between the government and the militants in September, said a mediator.

"The government wanted the militants to furnish guarantees to implement the Sept 5 deal in its totality, whereas the militants have linked talks with the complete withdrawal of troops from check posts in the troubled region," The Dawn quoted a mediator, as saying.

"The bottom line is that the jirga has dispersed without reaching any conclusion, because both sides are reluctant to show flexibility," a tribal elder said.

He said that after mutual discussions and a meeting with NWFP Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai, the jirga had asked the North and South Waziristan elders to persuade the militants to think again about their demands.

"The elders will discuss matters with the militants, and if any progress is made, they would reconvene the inter-tribal jirga," the elder said.

A handout issued from the Governor's House said: "After the meeting, the jirga members informed the officials of the Fata Secretariat that since the situation in North Waziristan Agency was not conducive for them to work as a whole, the jirga members, particularly those hailing from North Waziristan Agency and South Waziristan Agency, would visit Miramshah to make fresh efforts for peace in the area, in their individual capacities."

Another elder said, "The militants had taken a rigid stand and had refused to meet jirga's members, which is against the basic spirit of Pukhtun culture and traditions," another said.

According to sources, Lt. Gen. (retd) Aurakzai told mediators that the Government would not withdraw security forces from checkposts, unless the Utmanzai Tribe and militants gave fresh guarantees, ensuring an end to attacks on troops, suicide bombings, target killings and cross-border movement of the militants.

"We have constraints. It is not possible for the Government to pull out troops from checkposts without guarantees," the source quoted the Governor, as saying.

ANI