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Adeel asks US not to interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tauseef-ur-Rahman
PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party (ANP) has rejected any foreign concern against the implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Malakand Division and said that the step was purely aimed at bringing peace to the region.
“We don’t care about any outside concern. Our people are killed and we suffered great losses. We have made serious endeavours to restore peace in Swat. It is our problem and we will never allow the US to interfere in our internal affairs,” said Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel, acting ANP president, in an interview with The News here Tuesday.
He said those expressing concerns and reservations over the Swat peace agreement and Nizam-e-Adl Regulation should realise the gravity of the situation. “Our children were killed. The government had lost its writ. Schools burnt and infrastructure destroyed,” he said.
The prolonged military operation had failed to deliver desired results. It was necessary to bring peace back to the region and talks were the best way for the purpose, he said. “Let me make it clear we have not made any agreement with Taliban. We reached an agreement with Sufi Mohammad-led Tanzim Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) that worked as middleman in the entire peace deal,” Adeel remarked.
He urged the media not to intermix the previous peace deal that had been reached with the Taliban and the fresh one inked with the TNSM. “The TNSM assured us that they would disarm the militants when Nizam-e-Adl Regulation is implemented. It also assured the militants of ensuring implementation of the regulation,” he said.
He said it was a blessing of Almighty Allah that the ANP, a known nationalist and progressive political force, is implementing a system that was the longstanding demand of the people. “We have not introduced something new. It is the same regulation drafted by Iqbal Haider when he was the federal law minister in 1994, which were reintroduced in 1999. And now we have implemented that system with slight amendments,” he said.
The ANP leader was quite optimistic about the success of the agreement, saying that it would certainly help restore peace in the region. The agreement would also control the creeping of militancy into other districts, he added.
He avoided casting doubts on the role of the army, saying that there might be some problems with the security forces due to which they could not succeed in maintenance of the writ of the government despite two-year long operation. “I think our army is not properly trained for guerrilla warfare. I think they are specifically trained against India for fighting in the plain areas,” he argued.
Adeel condemned the growing drone attacks in the tribal areas. “It is a blatant violation of our sovereignty. We condemn it. Innocent people are being killed in these attacks and collateral damages are suffered,” he said.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
