Pak move on Afghan Ulema panel fails to take-off

The News: Jang

By Rahimullah Yusufzai

PESHAWAR: Pakistan's initiative to make the Afghan combatants agree to arbitration in their dispute by a joint commission of religious scholars has failed to take-off after the Taleban rejection of a 45-member list of Ulema presented by the anti-Taleban alliance.

The list was handed over by Aziz Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, to the Taleban leadership during his recent visit to Kandahar. The Pakistan government, which had received the list from deposed Afghan president Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, was hoping to receive a similar list from the Taleban so that it could be delivered to the opposition. However, it seems Islamabad's efforts to mediate between the two sides have failed to make any headway thus far.

Mulla Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taleban formation minister, said in Kabul on Monday that the list of Ulema presented by the opposition was unacceptable. "It appears that the opposition doesn't have qualified Ulema. Many in the list aren't Ulema, one example being former Ghazni governor Qari Baba who was rejected by the people and had to flee for his life. In fact, this list is an insult to the Ulema," argued Muttaqi. He said the opposition would have to come up with a list of credible and qualified Ulema if it was serious in holding negotiations to solve the Afghan problem. Moreover, he said the Ulema would have to be vested with authority by the parties nominating them in order to make the joint commission powerful and its deliberations fruitful.