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Efforts to secure Darra Adamkhel: Govt wants talks with Taliban through jirga

By Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR: The NWFP government has started efforts to hold talks with the Taliban in Darra Adamkhel to take control of the area, sources told Daily Times.

In the wake of the Taliban action against alleged criminals during their “drive against antisocial elements,” the NWFP government has decided to resolve all issues through a jirga. For the purpose, a new committee will be formed with the Taliban’s consent.

Leaders from the Darra Adamkhel Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, including Sheikhul Hadith Maulana Sher Bhadar, Maulana Saeedullah and Jan Mohammad Sadiq, and from the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan have also been trying to convince the Taliban to end their siege of Darra Adamkhel.

The Taliban earlier refused to hold talks with any government official or parliamentarian, including Senator from Darra Abdur Raziq and MNA Dr Nasim. They did not even allow the Khasadar force, militia, DCO and parliamentarians to enter their controlled areas.

Raziq said the Taliban belonged to five major tribes – Zargunkhel, Akhurwal, Bost-e-Khel, Torchapar and Sherki – and had formed a “reformative organisation against antisocial elements and un-Islamic activities”.

Locals said the Taliban wanted “to eliminate social evils from society after the local administration and jirga system have failed on this front”. They said that after completing their mission of killing several alleged criminals, the Taliban were now forcing the Khasadars to remain in checkposts, and were themselves marching at Darra Bazaar with rocket launchers and Kalashinikov rifles.

After the emergence of a deadlock between the Taliban and local administration, NWFP Additional Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal on Saturday convened a meeting and decided that all issues should be resolved through a jirga. The NWFP government decided so after the Taliban doubted “the role of Maliks, peace committee members and the local administration in the elimination of un-Islamic and anti-social activities”. Iqbal said the jirga’s job would be to devise a strategy to deal with local criminals, either by arresting them or by asking them to leave the Frontier Region of Kohat.

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