Summary JUI chief also said the matter of former president Pervez Musharraf rests with courts.
ISLAMABAD: (Dunya News) – During informal conversation with the media, JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman stated that the matter of former president Pervez Musharraf is of no concern to him. He further said that the way to begin peace negotiations with Taliban already exists and that the government should benefit from the tribal Jirga forum in this regard.
JUI chief went on to say that the government hasn’t assigned the responsibility of peace negotiations with Taliban to anyone yet; and maintained the government is serious about negotiations with Taliban. However the government is still unable to pave way to begin the peace negotiations as of yet, he said.
The matter of peace negotiations with Taliban came to a halt after the then Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike. The government and the opposition condemned the drone attack terming it an attempt to sabotage the peace process. The government and political leadership has since been figuring out a way to restart the process which came to an immediate halt after the Taliban leadership expressed distrust on the government and vowed to avenge Mehsud’s death.
Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the matter of former president Pervez Musharraf rests with courts, interior minister didn’t assign the task to negotiate with Taliban.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman distanced himself from the developments in the treason trial against the former president Pervez Musharraf saying that the matter doesn’t concern him and that the fate of the case rests in the hands of court.
Former president Musharraf is being tried for imposing emergency rule in November 2007 which suspended constitution and government institutions. He was summoned by the court a number of times; however he failed to make an appearance due to the security and medical reasons. Only Thursday, Musharraf sustained a heart attack on his way to the court and was taken to a military hospital Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC). Various sources report of the considerations to fly Musharraf abroad for treatment purposes however the government maintains no such decision has been taken.
Following Musharraf’s medical condition, the court had ruled against the issuance of arrest warrants for the former president which was sought by the prosecutors. The hearing in the case will resume on Monday.
