Bajaur peace talks fail as TTP seeks enforcement of Sharia in tribal districts

ISLAMABAD: Hours after head of a Jirga in Bajaur tribal district, Sahibzada Harun ur Rashid, spoke of a deadlock in talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the group announced the negotiations had ended without results.

The failure of the Jirga–TTP talks has raised concerns over the emerging security situation in Bajaur, which borders Afghanistan.

On Saturday, militants fired at a police station in Bajaur’s Loi Mamond area. No casualties were reported.

At the outset of the peace process this month, the Jirga leader had told TTP members to either return across the border or move to the mountains, saying locals could not tolerate the presence of militants in populated areas. The TTP rejected the proposal, insisting they were locals and would not leave.

“We are facing a deadlock as an obstacle has come in our way, which still persists. But the Jirga will make efforts for peace in the future. This is a permanent Jirga as it is a main stakeholder,” Harun ur Rashid said late Friday.

He did not elaborate on the nature of the deadlock but said statements from both sides had created obstacles.

“We have told both sides that war is no solution to the problems and appealed to them to show restraint. Both have assured Jirga members they would avoid actions that could harm civilians,” he added.

The Jirga leader also urged the Afghan government to help restore peace in the area. Local religious scholars had joined the peace efforts and endorsed the Jirga’s initiative.

The Jirga was formed after the local administration imposed a curfew and security forces launched a targeted operation against militants.

On Saturday, Jirga members met at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s House to discuss a strategy for maintaining peace in the district following the breakdown in talks.

The talks apparently collapsed after TTP leaders refused to leave the area and one of their senior figures, Gul Muhammad Bajauri — a member of the TTP leadership council and brother of former Deputy Chief Mullah Faqir Muhammad — tabled fresh demands.

These included the enforcement of Sharia in the tribal districts and Malakand, and the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, akin to the Afghan Taliban’s Ministry of Promotion of Virtue, Prohibition of Vice. He also suggested Afghan government mediation.

For their part, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the chief minister, and security officials urged tribal elders to expel militants — most of them Afghans — from the area.

“If the tribes cannot expel them, vacate the area for one or two days so that security forces can eliminate them,” security sources said.

They stressed that if this does not happen, security forces will seek to avoid collateral damage, but actions against the terrorists will continue regardless. T

hey ruled out holding talks with militants or their facilitators at the government level unless they fully surrender to the state.

Officials described the ongoing tribal Jirga as a logical step to ensure maximum public safety before launching any operation.

They underscored that neither religion, the state, nor the values of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa allow any compromise with the enemies of Islam and the state.