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Sufi Mohammad leads ''peace rally'' to Taliban stronghold Matta
 Maulana Sufi Mohammad, Chief of the Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), Wednesday reached Matta, the stronghold of militants in the volatile Swat Valley, as part of his peace mission.However, he could not hold talks with his son-in-law as widely expected by euphoric people who largely participated in his rally to play their part in the peaceful solution to the Swat problem. Earlier, Sufi Mohammad along with thousands of his supporters took out a peace rally, which after passing through various roads of Mingora culminated at the Tableeghi Markaz where special prayers were offered for the restoration of peace. Earlier, talking to The News, spokesman for the TNSM Amir Izzat Khan said that the rally was part of the peace initiative and an effort to remove the trepidations of the people of Swat. Izzat Khan said the peace rally would go to Matta and, if contacted, will hold talks with the Swat Taliban for laying down arms. He said the TNSM would devise a future strategy after holding talks with the Taliban in Charbagh. He said they would listen to their viewpoint. The spokesman said Sufi Mohammad would stay in Swat district till the complete restoration of peace in the valley and surrender by the Taliban. NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour on Wednesday said the provincial government was negotiating with everyone for the restoration of peace and normalcy in the restive Swat Valley. Meanwhile, a meeting of the Swat chapter of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was held on Wednesday at an unidentified location in Matta tehsil in which top commanders and Fazlullah's lieutenants participated. They reportedly constituted a committee to hold talks with the TNSM. Speaking at a press conference here at the Circuit House (this correspondent was not allowed to cover the event), NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour said it was due to their negotiations that peace was being restored in the restive valley. He thanked Maulana Sufi Mohammad for his efforts to restore peace. Provincial Minister for Environment Wajid Ali Khan, Minister for Science and Technology Mohammad Ayub Khan, member provincial assembly Sher Shah Khan and District Coordination Officer Shaukat Ali Khan Yousufzai were also present on the occasion. Bashir Bilour also thanked the people of Swat for voting the ANP to power in the hope of bringing peace to the valley. He said the ANP once signed an accord with the Taliban and now it had reached an accord with TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad. The minister said the Sharai Nizam-e-Adl Regulation could also be replicated in other districts following its success in Malakand region. The provincial government wanted to solve problems through dialogue as use of force was not a solution to problems, he added. He said that courts in Malakand would not be like that of Afghanistan's Taliban but the regulation was aimed at providing speedy justice. A 14-member delegation of the TNSM, headed by central Nazim-e-Adl Safiullah, met Bashir Bilour at the Circuit House and discussed the regulation in detail. Bilour said that efforts by the TNSM would prove fruitful in bringing back peace to the valley. Agencies add: Earlier, Sufi Muhammad and his supporters, carrying black and white flags representing the Taliban and peace, marched through Swat's main city of Mingora as jubilant residents chanted "God is great! We want peace"! Police and witnesses estimated that 15,000 people marched in the crowd as they paraded through the town with the cleric, who advised them to recite only verses from the holy Quran. The marchers later drove through nearby villages to muster support for their call to militants to shun violence. "We have come here for peace," Sufi Mohammad told around 3,000 people in Matta, a militants' stronghold, some 18 km north of Mingora. "Without peace, Shariah (Islamic law) cannot be enforced," he said as militants carrying AK-47 assault rifles strolled nearby. "We're Taliban. Everybody here is Taliban ... We won't accept anything short of the Shariah system," Saifur Rehman, a resident of Matta, told Reuters after Sufi Mohammad's speech. Local residents lined the main roads, greeting Sufi Mohammad, who was jailed in Pakistan for six years after returning from Afghanistan where he led thousands of supporters to fight against US-led troops who toppled the Taliban in 2001. Amnesty International believes that over the past year, more than 1,200 people have been killed and 2,00,000-5,00,000 displaced from Swat as a result of fighting between hardliners trying to impose Shariah and the government. Geo News adds: The peace marchers then drove to the nearby Khwazakhela town, another hotbed of Swat Taliban. This was the last report filed by our slain correspondent. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-20 |
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