PESHAWAR: Participants of the Pakhtun Peace Jirga (PPJ) held on Monday said that they would stand united to demand national, political and economic rights for the Pakhtun community regardless of their political differences.“The PPJ calls for unity among all Pakhtuns to stop the ongoing bloodshed. This call has been prompted by the fact that the international security system and regional government have failed to bring peace in the Pakhtun populated areas,” reads the unanimous resolution passed at the end of the event at Bacha Khan Markaz. The ANP sponsored PPJ was attended by approximately 500 leading Pakhtun figures from across the country, including political and religious party leaders, religious scholars, social workers, senior journalists and tribal elders from FATA and Balochistan.
Prominent among the participants were Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Justice (r) Mian Mohammad Ajmal, Balochistan MNA Mehmood Khan Achakzai, former NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq, Opposition Leader in NWFP Assembly Shehzada Gustasib, PPPP Rahim Dad and Iqbal Zafar Jhagra of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
The PPJ condemned interference in AfghanistanÂ’s internal affairs and asked the Afghans to resolve their differences through dialogue. It said that peace was not only vital for the Afghans, but was a prerequisite for the stability of the region. The PPJ also demanded the extension of the Political Parties Act to Fata.
ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan said that the overwhelming participation in the jirga was reflective of the fact that the entire nation wanted peace. “We are not fighting our own war in Afghanistan,” he said. He said that the country had served as a battlefield for the US and the Russians and was now being used by the US against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, adding that millions of Pakhtuns had been rendered homeless in the process. Khan criticised President Musharraf for his remarks stating that the Pakhtun were part of the Taliban, by saying that the Pakhtuns were a peaceful nation and the Taliban were the creation of the army. Fazlur Rehman said that ensuring peace was the primary responsibility of any government, which accounted for the provision of basic human rights such as the safety of life, property and honour. He said that Musharraf had miscalculated the situation in Afghanistan and the tribal areas in Pakistan.