PESHAWAR: The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has offered to hold talks with the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a group that campaigns for the rights of Pashtun people.
The traditional jirga, or assembly, would be headed by the KP governor and include tribal elders from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and representatives from other districts in the province.
PTM activists on Friday said they are willing to talk to the government, but insist that the meeting must be held in the presence of “international guarantors,” in particular the UN since Pakistan is signatory to many international conventions on human rights. Initial discussions were held on Wednesday at the residence of AlHajj Shah Jee Gul, a member of National Assembly from the tribal Khyber Agency, said PTM leader Ali Wazir. PTM leaders will make a final decision about participating in the talks after mutual consultation, he added.
Gul said the meeting on Wednesday was a preliminary round of formal talks in which the PTM leadership was asked to put forward the names of their representatives and the government authorities with whom they wished to talk.
The primary demands of PTM include an end to the “extra-judicial killing” of Pashtuns, the removal of land mines from their territory, and the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate human-rights violations in the Pashtun belt.
The movement has been staging rallies across Pakistan that included the chanting of anti-state slogans, leading the administration to disallow their protests.
“The fact that PTM has agreed to talks is also an achievement,” said Gul, adding that the government is now waiting for the group’s response.
PTM is set to hold another protest rally in Swat on April 29, said group member Bilal Mehsud. It will decide on a course of action regarding the talks with the government after that, he added.
“The government authorities assured us that PTM can continue its activities but now when we are holding the Swat rally on April 29, the administration is creating problems for us,” said Mehsud. “Our workers who are posting banners and making arrangements for the rally are being harassed.”
Bilal Bacha, another PTM member, said: “We made it very clear to the participants of the meeting [on the government’s side] that our elders from Quetta to Swat will take part in the upcoming talks [with the apex committee jirga].”
Sana Ejaz, also member of PTM, said formal talks with the apex committee are likely to begin soon. However, she reiterated that they must be held in presence of “international guarantors.”
“It would be unjust if we are told to pack up and later our demands are not met,” she added.
The United Nations in particular could be a guarantor, she said, given Pakistan has signed a number of UN treaties and the global body is also responsible for protecting human rights around the world.
Ejaz also called for the removal of land mines from FATA, along with an end to the ethnic profiling of Pashtuns in major urban centers, the return of missing persons, and the punishment of Karachi police officer Rao Anwar, who was involved in the killing of Pashtun Naqeebullah Mehsud.
“Going by police investigations, Anwar has killed 440 people in fake police encounters,” she said. “Also, it is not possible to release all missing people since the authorities have admitted that nearly 4,000 of them were handed over to foreign governments under the Musharraf regime alone.”
She also pointed out that security forces sometimes imposed emergency curfews in some areas, mostly in FATA, for indefinite periods, and that PTM wants an end to this.
KP government spokesman, and member of its provincial assembly, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai said the administration would consider all genuine demands from the movement. However, he added that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government fully supported the Pakistani Army.
“Our soldiers have given their lives and sacrificed a great deal to restore peace in KP and FATA,” he said. “The army should not be criticized.”
Yousafzai added that much of the rest of what the group is asking for could be debated and accepted.
“Now that peace has returned to the region, it’s not wise to disturb it through protest movements. Yes, there can be talks on the issues and genuine demands can be met,” he said.
The civilian and military leadership is taking a keen interest in addressing the PTM grievances. The military has announced it will hand over most of the checkpoints in FATA to the civilian authorities. Officials also maintain that 64 percent of the process to remove land mines from FATA has been completed.