Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday reached Kabul on the invitation of the interim Afghan government to discuss Islamabad’s approach to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other issues.
Pakistan hopes that Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s religious influences on the Afghan Taliban would bring peace and stability with Kabul bowing to Islamabad’s demands. An 11-member delegation, headed by the JUI-F chief and including former South Waziristan MNA Maulana Jamaluddin Mehsud, Mufti Ibrar and members from the Haqqani religious seminary, reached Kabul on the invitation of the Ameerul Momineen Mullah Haibatullah Akhund.
Some of the religious scholars had already landed in Kabul on Saturday while the Maulana along with other members of the delegation joined them on Sunday. After reaching Kabul, Fazl met with the interim deputy prime minister of Afghanistan Maulana Abdul Kabir. Afghan interim foreign minister Maulvi Amir Muttaqi, Maulvi Abdul Latif, and others were also present on the occasion.
Sources revealed that Fazl would also meet with Haqqani Network chief Sirajuddin Haqqani and Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob to discuss the Islamabad agenda with them. The two sides are expected to discuss the TTP and other issues, including bringing them to the negotiating table, ensuring the security of the elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the merged districts, pushing them away from border areas, border management, trade relations and also the visa-free movement at Chaman border points.
The two sides already made promises on security affairs when Mullah Shirin, the governor of Kandahar province, had landed last week in Islamabad while Maulana Fazl’s visit would give further push on all topics concerned, the source added. Besides Maulana Fazl, Maulana Mehsud who has influence over the TTP groups in South Waziristan could also bring the TTP Mehsud and Wazir groups to the negotiating table for talks.
