Taliban to ‘lay down arms’ if Bajaur operation halted

[LRE]

Taliban to ‘lay down arms’ if Bajaur operation halted
Thursday, October 30, 2008


Promise to surrender to Jirga, renounce militancy

By Mushtaq Yusufzai


PESHAWAR: In a dramatic development, the Taliban militants led by Maulvi Faqir Mohammad engaged in fighting against the security forces in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday offered to lay down their arms and renounce militancy if the government halted the ongoing military operation.

“They promised us to lay down their arms, give up militancy, remain loyal to the government and help restore the writ of the state in Bajaur, but demanded of the government to stop the air strikes and artillery shelling on tribal villages,” said a noted tribal elder, Malik Fazle Mabood, who led a tribal Jirga that held the first-ever face-to-face meeting with the militants in their stronghold, Mamond area, after the government launched a massive military campaign against the militants on August 7.

Talking to this scribe by telephone from his Mamond abode, Fazle Mabood said that before going to Taliban leaders they held a series of meetings with senior government officials in Khar, headquarters of violence-hit Bajaur Agency, where they were repeatedly asked to expel the militants from their areas and burn their houses.

He said they raised a tribal Lashkar in Mamond and burnt houses of senior Taliban commanders, including Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, deputy leader of Baitullah Mehsud-led banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Taliban leader in Bajaur Commander Jan Wali alias Sheena and TTP Spokesman Maulvi Omar, who were also banned from patrolling and wearing masks.

He said the militants agreed and were no more patrolling in their pick-ups. But, he added, the government was not satisfied with their work and put forth some conditions. The tribal elder said the Jirga members again held a detailed meeting with the militants at a secret place in Mamond, where they were warned of stern action by the Lashkar as well as the government in case of their refusal to cooperate with the Jirga.

Malik Fazle Mabood said Maulvi Faqir was participating in the talks through a walkie-talkie. He said the Jirga members also informed the militant commanders about the hardships and sufferings of Bajaur residents, displaced by the military operation and now staying at makeshift relief camps.

According to the Jirga members, the militants finally agreed to lay down their arms, give up militancy, abolish their roadside checkpoints, finish their so-called “Islamic courts” and the parallel administrative set-up in Bajaur.

Also, the elders said the militants promised them to help the government restore its writ to areas under the control of the militants. Malik Fazle Mabood said the militant commanders had given them their word and promised to surrender to the tribal Jirga, which would decide about their fate. They promised to remain peaceful in future and would also refrain from displaying arms, he said.

However, Fazle Mabood said the militants demanded the government to replace the “draconian” Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) with Shariah and halt the ongoing military drive in Bajaur.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=18073