The names include Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) chief Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer...
, Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, former chief holy man of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad Maulana Abdul Aziz, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of the Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI), and Mufti Kifayatullah, a former politician of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
(JUI-F) from Mansehra
...
a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...said to have close ties with the Taliban.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
said his government had decided to pursue peace talks with Talibs to end years of violence despite a recent spate of attacks.
The premier named a four-member committee comprising his Advisor on National Affairs Irfan Siddique, veteran journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs Rustam Shah Mohmand and former ISI official Major (Retd) Amir Shah to facilitate the dialogue.
Speaking to Dawn.com on Saturday, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) front man Shahidullah Shahid said the five "mediators" would facilitate peace talks between the government team and the TTP.
The banned hard boy group announced the names after a meeting of its central shura (council) which was held at
"The Taliban are entering talks with clear intentions and an open heart," said Shahid.
"Our emir Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
supports the five-member committee we have nominated.
"Our shura will communicate its stance to the five nominees who will mediate talks with the government team," he said.
Speaking to DawnNews, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim confirmed that he had been contacted by the TTP to "act as a solicitor" on their behalf.
"It does not matter what side we represent. We will try to fulfill our responsibility to bring peace in the country...and hope that we will be able to achieve lasting peace," he said.
Maulana Abdul Aziz also confirmed that he had been contacted by the TTP, though he said he would decline to be a part of the process if he feels the government was not serious in negotiations or in implementing Shariah law in the country.
Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon...
PTI chief Imran Khan sent a message from his official Twitter account that the "TTP should select their own Taliban representatives 4 (for) peace talks".
However,
death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate...
Khan said the party would discuss how it could assist in the dialogue process at a meeting of its core committee scheduled for Monday.