Pro-Taliban Islamist Politician Asks for Strong Relations Between Pak & Taliban

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, the leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, called for strong relations between Pakistan and the Taliban and a common strategy "to eliminate terrorism".

Fazal-ur-Rehman said that people are not satisfied with the results of Pakistan’s military operations in tribal areas of the country.

On Friday, during a press conference in Peshawar, Rehman said that instead of targeting innocent people, the government agencies should hold talks with the country’s politicians to resolve the issues.

Following a deadly suicide attack in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that targeted a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam conference, the party's leader held a tribal jirga in Peshawar. In this jirga, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman expressed concern about the "recent terrorist attacks" and called for finding the perpetrators of the attack.

The leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam said, "The Jirga asks for effective steps to restore law and order." Maulana Fazal-ur Rehman emphasised the importance of strong bilateral relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.

Last Sunday, a suicide attack targeted the conference of the party led by Fazal-ur-Rehman, as a result of which 63 died and 200 others had been injured.

At the Qawmi Jirga in Peshawar, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the leader of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, said that the ongoing bloodshed and violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan is not a social or cultural phenomenon, but the result of proxy wars launched by international powers for their interests.