Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious party in Pakistan, has said that unknown elements were out to undermine the peace talks between the government and the Taliban. Syed Munawar Hassan, head of Jamaat-e-Islami, said, “some hidden hand wanted to sabotage the Pakistan government-Taliban talks before these reached a decisive stage,” the news Reported on February 18, 2014.
Pakistan, a front line state in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), is among the countries worst hit by terror activities. More than 48 thousands civilians have been killed in different terror incidents in Pakistan. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are considered the bastion of militants. Several military operations have been conducted in the region, but it remains a sanctuary for terrorists.
Pakistan prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif’s party Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) has decided to hold peace talks with Tehreek-e -Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant group behind the targeting of civilian, government and military installations. To hold talks with the TTP, the government constituted a three-member committee including: journalist Rahimullah Yousafzai; former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand; special adviser to the prime minister, Irfan Saddiqi; and Muhammad Amir, a retired military officer.
The committee representing the TTP comprises: Maulana Samiulhaq, chief of his faction of Jamiat Ulema Islam; Samiulhaq (JUI-S) chief), professor Muhammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-e-Islami; and Maulana Yousaf Shah.
Even as the two committees started meeting and the TTP committee also met with TTP Shura (Council) to initiate peace talks, terror activities have continued. Terrorists have targeted public places in the border city of Peshawar including cinemas, leaving many dead and injured. The TTP disowned attacks and condemned them. The peace talk were derailed when a video showing beheaded personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC), a paramilitary force fighting terrorists in FATA, emerged. The 23 soldiers were kidnapped in 2010 from a Frontier Corps check post in Mohmand agency.
The statement of JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan came after the alleged killing of 23 FC personnel by the TTP Mohmand chapter. Around the same time, Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif also condemned the killing. PM Nawaz said that “Whenever we reach an encouraging point [in peace talks], the process is sabotaged”, the news reported.
Senator Haji Muhammad Adil, a senior leader of Awami National Party (ANP) considers Munawar Hasan’s statement “stupid.” “TTP claimed responsibility for killing the FC personnel in Mohmand agency,” Adil told Truth Tracker by phone. “How can Munawar Hassan blame hidden hands for sabotaging peace talks then?”
He said if Munawar Hassan had evidence of a hidden hand sabotaging peace talks with the TTP, he should have made it public so that the nation could know about it.
Muhammad Waqas Khan, provincial leader and member of the central council of Jamaat-e -Islami, said that “It is a known fact that the Big Hidden Boss stirs up a situation every time to sabotage the talks [with Taliban] at a crucial juncture.”
To the question that whether external or internal elements were involved in sabotaging peace, Khan replied that “both elements [foreign and internal state elements] are involved in sabotaging peace process with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.”
Criticizing the ANP leader Senator Haji Adil for seeking evidence of a hidden hand, Khan said “even Haji Adil must have evidence [of involvement of hidden hands in sabotaging peace talks].”
Raza Rumi, a writer and analyst told Truth Tracker that Jamaat-e- Islami’s narrative was dangerous for the future of the Pakistani state.
“Since the Pakistan Army is an ally of United states [in the global War Against Terror],the JI has reservations about its [the army’s] operation in Pakistan’s North [North Waziristan Agency] but this is extremely dangerous because such a narrative threatens the future of Pakistan,” Rumi told Truth Tracker by phone from Lahore. “There is an ideological issue, also as JI has sympathies with Al-Qaeda.”
A journalist and analyst based in Peshawar told Truth Tracker on the condition of anonymity that whenever a peace process was underway, most of the attacks were disowned by TTP.
“It is an indication of a hidden hand at work to sabotage peace process”, he said.
Shah Farman,Information Minister in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, while talking to media after an attack on a cinema in Peshawar early this month, said that there was a third party involved in sabotaging the peace process. “There is a third party who is busy sabotaging the peace process but we don’t know who the third party is,” Farman told the media.
Taking into account the above comments and analysis, Truth Tracker considers the statement of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawar Hassan as half-true, as the analysts did not deny his statement. It is unclear whether there was a hidden hand at work to sabotage the peace process. Although analysts argue that JI made the statement based on ideological sympathies with Al-Qaeda, different parties in the government including the ruling PML-N of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf have been saying the same thing. No one, however, has proffered any proof.
Izharullah is Peshawar-based Freelance Journalist having expertise in online media.He has got Master degree in Media studies from University of Peshawar and currently pursuing specialization in the field of online media. Apart studies,he is currently working as a freelance reporter with International Relief and Development(IRD)-a joint project of USaid and Radio Pakistan and Independent Project Reporting-GIZ. He also occasionally cover special events for UAE based new wire Gulf News. Izhar is the proud Fellow of three months course on "Development Journalism" offered by GIZ with the support of University of Peshawar. Currently he is working as reporter with News Lens and UPI-Next for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.He also writes blogs for CNNireport.He also worked for UK-based online News website Thenewstribe for two years as web producer. He can be reach at @izhar2u and [email protected]
April 18, 2014
April 18, 2014
March 13, 2014
March 13, 2014
|