Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison - VIII
Faizullah Khan was detained by Afghan authorities in eastern Nangarhar province in April 2014.
Part - 8: (Intriguing account of a Pakistani journalist captured in Afghanistan for interview of Taliban leadership)
Read Part - 7 here: Five months of Pakistani journalist in Jalalabad prison – VII
Ehsanullah Ehsan gave me a warm welcome and offered cold drink. For some time we enjoyed the beautiful view of the riverside. Now my guide was Ehasnullah Ehsan himself. He sat on the driving seat of the car and I seated myself beside him. He had an American pistol whereas the guard sitting on the backseat contained a kalashnikov.
Driving fastly he entered a village where everyone was greeting him and he was replying to every other person. This was a custom over here. After sometime we entered a compound located on some height and away from the village. This was TTP’s media cell in Nangarhar where Pakistani channels were monitored and the faction s social media pages were controlled.
I spent the next four days there which were quiet interesting, informative and filled with major stories. While talking to Ehsanullah Ehsan and other leaders, a jirga comprising of three tribes from Khyber Agency came to meet TTP leaders. They wanted to settle a land dispute through them in their area. I was told that many traders and tribal people throughout the country contact them for their disputes whereas the Taliban leaders resolve their issue by conducting negotiations between the parties.
After sometime we entered a compound located on some height and away from the village. This was TTP’s media cell in Nangarhar where Pakistani channels were monitored and the faction s social media pages were controlled.
Since the decision is guaranteed by Taliban therefore; no one violates it. A limited cooperation is also present between TTP leaders and Afghanistan intelligence agencies in the border areas of Afghanistan.
Many Pakistani Taliban from Swat, Bajaur and Mohmand agency reside here with their families and have been issued regular refugee cards.
Despite of this they are arrested and imposed penalties by Afghan officials on various charges. Due to continuous detentions, a big group of Swati Taliban in Kantar is engaged in fight against Afghan forces and lives in the mountains due to the fear of arrests while conducting attacks on them.
Peace talks were in progress between Pakistani government and TTP during my visit in Afghanistan. These talks had faced several delay and situation in the beginning became tense when Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s Chief Imran Khan and Jamiat Ulema Islam leader Mufti Kafaitullah refused to become a member of the negotiating team. Moreover, Lal Masjid’s orator Maulana Abdul Aziz also distant himself from the team later.
Imran Khan feared that his inclusion in the committee might not get him related with TTP whereas Maulvi Kafaitullah could not be a part of the comittee despite his wish because Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman Kaleedi was unhappy on not getting a part in the talks.
Situation in the beginning of peace talks became tense when Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf’s Chief Imran Khan and Jamiat Ulema islam leader Mufti Kafaitullah refused to become a member of the negotiating team.
Despite of Hakeemullah Mehsud’s death, TTP gave importance to his will and preferred Maulana Sami-ul-Haq on Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman. Maulana Abdul Aziz adopted distance from the committee as he was of the view that the demand of Sharia implementation was not given due importance in the talks.
In this way the peace committee was left with Maulana Sami-ul-Haq and Jamamt-i-Islami’s Chief Professor Muhammad Ibrahim from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which later Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s - (Sami ul Haq) leader Maulana Yousaf was added.
TTP afterwards sent several messages to Maulana Abdul Aziz for his insertion in the committee after which he became its part partially.
Read the Urdu version here: Five months in Jalalabad prison
