KP CM’s aide advocates talks with TTP

PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif on Tuesday said the government should not close doors of talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “We need to move forward with a comprehensive approach and open mind,” he said while addressing the launching ceremony of “Charter of Peace” held at the Shaykh Zayed Islamic Centre in the University of Peshawar. The event was organised by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based research and advocacy think-tank.

Lawmakers, academics, journalists, students and representatives of civil society attended the ceremony. Saif, who is also the spokesperson of KP government, argued that they should keep talking with the TTP but should not surrender before it and respond vigorously if the proscribed militant group carried out any terrorist activity.

The remarks of the key functionary of the provincial government came a day after TTP formally called off the ceasefire agreement struck with the government earlier this year and ordered its militants to carry out terrorist attacks across the country.

“This is your choice whether you want to end terrorism in the country with hard measures or through talks,” Saif said, adding that negotiations were the better way to bring sustainable peace in the country. He said that the militants were crushed in the past through military operations but they benefited from the ground situation in neighbouring Afghanistan. The special assistant also said that peace and war were interrelated phenomena but the question of identity was very important in this regard. He added that the identity crisis used to push human beings towards some sort of conflict.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Minority Affairs Wazir Zada underscored the need for bringing reforms in the criminal justice system. “Peace couldn’t be attained until we reform our justice system,” he said, adding that ensuring rule of law and rights of minorities were the two prerequisites to achieve the objective.

Member Provincial Assembly Humaira Bashir said that peace could not be attained in the country without youth empowerment and ensuring women rights. Shaykh Zayed Islamic Centre Director Prof Dr Rashid Ahmad emphasized that questioning should be promoted among youth and they should be provided with open forums whether they could debate freely. He deplored that questioning was discouraged among the youth. Director PIPS Muhammad Amir Rana in his welcome note said the purpose of launching the document was to reiterate the resolve that Pakistan was “inclusive and for all, where rights of every one should be protected.”