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| India-Pakistan |
| Accord inked to reconcile rival sects in Dera |
| 2009-07-04 |
| [The News (Pak) Top Stories] DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam -Fazl (JUI-F) Maulana Fazlur Rahman ultimately succeeded in striking a peace agreement between the rival sects in the volatile district on Friday. Sources said amid target killings, kidnappings and lawlessness that had gripped the Dera city for the last several months, the peace committee, headed by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, with the help of Federal Minister for Tourism Maulana Attaur Rahman and Qari Muhammad Nawaz Tahir brought the elders of Shia and Sunni communities to the table for talks. For durable peace and harmony between the two communities, a peace agreement was signed at the Circuit House, where the JUI-F chief read out the agreement in the presence of both the stakeholders. The leaders of the two communities -- Abdur Rauf Baloch, Allama Ramzan Tauqeer, Maulana Muhammad Ibrahim, Syed Inayat Ali Shah, Muhammad Akhtar, Syed Fayaz Hussain Bukhari, Abdul Aziz and Syed Ghulam Abbas Shah -- were present on the occasion. The agreement was signed in the presence of Commissioner Muhammad Hamayun, Deputy Inspector General of Police Muhammad Ishtiaq Marwat and District Police Officer Gul Afzal Khan Afridi. Maulana Fazl read out the names of the peace committee members and the points of the peace agreement during the press conference. He said it was the responsibility of all the residents to play their due role in evolving a pluralistic peaceful society in the city. He hoped that the peace accord would help end the lawlessness in the area. Fazl said sensible people honoured the decision made through talks and negotiations and it was the responsibility of each community to keep the promise. The points that were agreed and signed by both the stakeholders were as under: The list of the persons from both communities wanted to the administration for acts of violence would be handed over to the district authorities as the names produced by the district administration were acceptable to the two sides. Anyone found involved in acts of violence after the agreement would be handed over to the police. If a community failed to produce the involved person (s), it would be the responsibility of the respective community to renounce affiliation with him/them besides cooperating with the law-enforcement agencies to apprehend the person at large. Soon after the implementation of the agreement, the process of handing over the wanted persons would start. It was agreed that this process would be completed within 10 days. If a person in question did not surrender, his respective community will renounce any relation with that person. Sub-committees were also formed to monitor the enforcement of the agreement that included the district level officer. MPA Khalifa Abdul Qayyum and Murid Kazim would also oversee the agreementÃs implementation. |
| Posted by:Fred |