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| India-Pakistan |
| Sufi unveils nine-point peace plan |
| 2009-02-24 |
| Tanzeem Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad, while expressing concern over the activities of the militants in Swat after the peace agreement, asked them on Monday to stop their militant actions. The TNSM, whose black-turbaned activists are staying in a mosque here till ìrestoring peaceî, asked NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haidar to visit the Taliban-infested Swat Valley, where until recently ministers and even MNAs and MPAs could not go. Unabated activities by the militants even after a ceasefire have been causing a serious setback to the peace deal. The militants picked up the newly-posted District Coordination Officer (DCO), Khushhal Khan, and three other people on Sunday, who were released after six hours of talks. However, cashier of the National Bank of Pakistan Yousaf, Akbar Zaman and Bakht Ghulam, who were kidnapped from Odigram area near Mingora, are still in the captivity of the militants. Sufi Muhammad, who has been making unflinching efforts for bringing back tranquillity to Swat, was perturbed and intended to have a direct contact with the militants in near future. Unveiling a nine-point plan for restoration of peace here at a press conference, he asked both the militants and the government to fulfil their responsibility by taking measures for bringing back calm to the valley. Sufi, who was unwell, started the press conference with emphasis on a life in accordance with Shariah. He, however, asked the TNSM spokesman, Amir Izzat Khan, to read out the plan. Before going into the details, Izzat thanked the government for enforcing the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation and doing away with certain check-posts. The nine points of the plan are: 1) The government should shift the Army from schools, houses, mosques, hospitals and other places to safer locations and remove all the ìobstaclesî so that the problems of the people are addressed. The document said that incident of Musa Khankhel murder and kidnapping of the DCO had created panic among the people and hindered the process of establishing peace. The TNSM urged the people from all walks of life, including the civil society and political parties, to help the TNSM in restoring peace and implementing Nizam-e-Adl. "Particularly, I appeal to the media to help restore peace," Maulana Alam, deputy chief of the TNSM, requested on behalf of Sufi Muhammad. Earlier, talking exclusively to The News at Madni Mosque, Saidu Sharif, Sufi Muhammad said he wanted to remove fears from the hearts of the people and provide them with an opportunity to move freely. "The people will be able to move freely if the check-posts are dismantled and Taliban's movement is restricted," Sufi added. To a question, he said that some undesirable elements were out to sabotage the peace efforts but he hoped they would be exposed. To another query, he said that Maulana Fazlullah had agreed to remain non-violent during the recent meeting with him. "He will stick to that," he hoped. AFP adds: Meanwhile, schools reopened in Swat valley on Monday but attendance was extremely low despite a fledgling truce between the government and insurgents, officials said. "Our schools reopened today. The attendance was very poor. Only up to 10 percent attended," Swat education ministry official Sher Afzal told AFP. Schools reopened a week earlier than scheduled after the winter holidays, but Afzal said many parents were unaware of the new term start date.Syed Mohammad Javed, a top local government official, appealed the students to return to school, promising to accord them full security. The government reopened all boys' schools on Monday but only the primary section up to the fourth grade in girls' schools, local officials said.A spokesman said attendance at private schools -- all of which reopened -- was only 40 percent because of security fears. "This is because of the recent (unstable) situation. Another reason is that many families are still frightened and thousands more left the valley because of the fighting," said private schools association spokesman Ziauddin Yusufzai. Residents said girls attended classes veiled after militant leader Maulana Fazlullah announced on his illegal radio station that girls could take examinations, but only after covering themselves according to shariah. Of the total 350,000 pupils registered in Swat, 250,000 are enrolled at government schools and 100,000 at private schools, said Afzal.Militants have destroyed 191 schools in the valley, including 122 girls' schools, leaving 62,000 pupils without schools to go to, said Afzal. Militant spokesman Muslim Khan said girls could go to school provided they observe "Pardah". "We have sent proposals to the government to rebuild the schools, which will cost around 800 million rupees (10 million dollars)," Afzal said. APP adds: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Athar Abbas on Monday said the operation in Swat has been halted. Addressing a seminar organised by the Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad, Athar Abbas said that the state could not control the external elements, as the militants were continuously getting funds from ìinimical forcesî. He said that a vacuum was created as the administrative machinery stood paralysed in Swat and it was imperative to gain confidence of the people for some success over there. He welcomed the political approach to deal with the situation in the area, saying ìthis may bear fruitful results without causing any further loss of lives." He said the Taliban have gotten themselves mixed up with the people, using civilians to shield themselves. Athar Abbas said that establishing the government's writ and restoring peace were the main objectives of the Army while the operation has been halted under the new political strategy. He said the troops will stay in the area. Answering a question, he said that the troops were not withdrawn from the Afghan border when some were deployed on the Indian border. To another question, he said the Army was not carrying out any operation in Balochistan, saying the Frontiers Corps was dealing with the situation in the province. Regarding the FM station operations in Swat, he said that mobile FM transmitters were being used to carry out the illegal activity and whenever these were spotted their transmission was jammed. |
| Posted by:Fred |