Govt committee, PTM hold another round of talks

PESHAWAR: The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leaders and the government-appointed committee held another round of talks on Sunday at the residence of former lawmaker Shah Jee Gul Afridi in Hayatabad.

This was the first time the two sides met after the recent firing incident in Wana in which the PTM activists led by Ali Wazir and the members of the local Peace Committee confronted each other. A jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribal elders later negotiated an end to the confrontation.

The government committee asked the PTM leaders to postpone the public rally in Razmak, North Waziristan, which is scheduled to be held on the third day of Eidul Fitr. They requested them to postpone the protest meeting till the situation becomes normal.

The government committee told the PTM leaders that it would be difficult for them to mobilise their supporters in the wake of the imposition of Section 144 in North Waziristan.

The PTM leaders informed the committee members that they would convene their core committee meeting to discuss the request and inform the government committee of their response within two days.

The PTM had held a sit-in protest for the last few days in Hayatabad in Peshawar against the Wana violence. The PTM leaders on Saturday announced ending the sit-in to start preparations for the Razmak rally.

The PTM leaders claimed that the government committee contacted them whenever the PTM announced plans for holding a public rally.