PESHAWAR: The grand tribal jirga was given go-ahead signal to initiate dialogue process with the Taliban on Friday as TTP led by Hakimullah Mehsud welcomed unanimous proposal of the All Parties Conference (APC) convened by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) for dialogue with the militants, but said they were still waiting for positive response of the military authorities. “Our political shura held a meeting and welcomed summit of all the political parties regarding talks with the Taliban. The political parties by avoiding the word terrorism in their joint statement gave a positive signal. But since the real power rests with the Pakistan Army, therefore we are waiting for positive response of the military authorities,” Ihsanullah Ihsan, a spokesman for the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said. The News, The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: While an All Parties Conference has supported talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the security establishment believes that holding a dialogue with the TTP would be like negotiating with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) since there was barely any difference between the two al-Qaeda-linked groups. They believe the two jointly plan and carry out terror strikes across Pakistan in pursuance of their common agenda — targeting the state of Pakistan and making it surrender to their whims and wishes. A majority of mainstream parties attending the All Parties Conference (APC) organised by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) asked the government through a resolution to respond positively to the Taliban’s talks offer. The News.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah said on Friday night that his office would serve as coordination office of a tribal jirga to facilitate negotiations between the government and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Talking to reporters after a meeting with members of the jirga led by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the governor said he had directed political agents of all tribal regions to cooperate with the jirga in its efforts for making peace with the TTP. The 87-member tribal jirga was given the mandate to negotiate peace with militants at an all-parties conference hosted by the JUI-F in Islamabad on Thursday. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will shortly resume distribution of flour to internally displaced persons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata in light of the sanction of 75,000 metric tons wheat by the federal government. The UN agency had suspended distribution of the staple food item to the displaced persons last month due to exhaustion of wheat stock and provided 40 kilogrammes rice to per family as a substitute. WFP spokesman Amjad Jamal told Dawn on Friday that flour distribution to IDPs would resume shortly. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen killed a trader and injured another at a shop in Kochi Bazaar in Peshawar city on Friday evening. An official of local police said two people riding a motorcyclist stopped in front of the shop, opened fire at Akbar Ali Mir and Mukhtar Hussain and fled. He said the people shifted the two Lady Reading Hospital, where Akbar Ali was pronounced dead and Mukhtar Hussain was under treatment. Dawn.
PESHAWAR: The provincial maternal, neonatal and child health steering committee for Fata on Friday approved policy for the use of Misoprostol medicine and clinical protocols for community-based management of postpartum haemorrhage (excessive bleeding after delivery). They were later forwarded to the health secretary for consent. The approval was granted during a meeting of the committee chaired by Fata director (health) Dr Fawad under the project `Saving Mothers in Communities. Dawn.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan publicly admitted Friday that it has learnt from its past mistakes in dealing with Afghanistan and cautioned other countries not to repeat Pakistan’s blunders, saying it was necessary that they should have clarity and commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s ambassador to Germany Mr Abdul Basit made these remarks to the participants of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD)’s Task Force on Afghanistan and Pakistan at Bundestag (German Parliament). Several SPD Parliamentarians, members, representatives of German think tanks and the German Foreign Office attended the meeting. The News.
PESHAWAR: In February, two CIA drone strikes hit Pakistan killing at least nine people, the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism said in its monthly report. This is a significant drop from January when six strikes reportedly killed 27-54 people. “On February 7 John Brennan, Barack Obama’s nominee for CIA director, went before the Senate Intelligence Committee for his confirmation hearing. The two Pakistan strikes book-ended the Brennan hearing,” a press release of the Bureau said.“The first hit the day beforehand, destroying a house and killing alleged Pakistan Taliban (TTP) militants. It coincided with a Pakistan Air Force raid on TTP positions in Orakzai Agency,” it added. The News.
BARA: Three persons, including a woman, were killed and as many sustained injuries when the security forces personnel opened fire on passenger vehicles in Alamgudar area of Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency on Friday, tribal sources said.Two vehicles carrying passengers were heading to Sepah area when security forces deployed at Alamgudar opened fire on them for violating curfew. Three persons Azam Khan, Zaitoon and a woman, wife of Hajir Khan, were killed while three persons were injured. The wounded were shifted to Peshawar.Security forces and political administration had announced imposition of curfew in Bara tehsil for an indefinite period. The News.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHARY
