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JUI-F jirga fails to end fighting between LI and AI in Tirah

* Jirga head says another round of talks to begin on July 22

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: A grand jirga of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has failed to come up with a final decision to end fighting between two militant organisations in Khyber Agency.

The 56-member jirga met here on Thursday to discuss its meetings with the chiefs of Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansarul Islam (AI) and to announce its decision regarding an end to fighting in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. The meeting, however, merely set another date for further negotiations. More than 50 people have been killed in fighting between the LI and AI in the past month.

Another round: JUI-F provincial secretary general and head of the jirga Shujaul Mulk told reporters after the meeting that another jirga would be convened in Khyber Agency on July 22 to discuss an end to fighting and the restoration of peace. Mulk said that they would launch a decisive round of talks with both militant outfits and the negotiations would continue until a ceasefire was achieved between the warring sides. He said three members each from LI and AI and five members from the JUI-F would participate in the July 22 talks. The JUI-F jirga met LI chief Mangal Bagh and his AI counterpart Mullah Mehboob in Tirah last week. Mulk said that they had also decided to constitute a three-member committee to discuss peace in Mohmand Agency. The members included Mullah Samiullah, Mullah Mohabbat Khan and Mullah Sardar Ahmad.

He said another jirga comprising 650 members from the tribal and settled areas of the NWFP would be constituted to find a solution to the security problems in those areas. He did not say when the jirga would be formed. Mulk added that the JUI-F would also form 25-member jirgas on the district and agency levels throughout the province to discuss peace and put an end to violence.

Criticising the NWFP government for the worsening security situation in Hangu district, the JUI-F leader said the government should show sincerity and encourage local jirgas. Regarding the JUI-F being part of the federal government, Mulk said his party had no “taste for ministries”. Its first and foremost objective was the security and stability of the country, he added. He said the JUI-F was going to launch a campaign against all those spreading rumours about the dismemberment of the country.

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