TNSM rejects Darul Qaza, appointment of Qazis

Monday, May 04, 2009

Spokesman says provincial government has violated agreed formula

By our correspondent

BATKHELA: The Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) has rejected the NWFP government’s unilateral decision of setting up the Darul Qaza and appointing two high court judges as Qazis.
“The TNSM leaders and the NWFP government delegation held talks in Timergara on May 1 wherein it was agreed that in the first phase the military operation would be halted in the Malakand Division so that the displaced persons could return to their hometowns,” Amir Izzat Khan, spokesman for the TNSM, told media persons after the Shura meeting in Amandara on Sunday.
“In the second phase, the provincial government and the TNSM chief, along with the Shura members, would announce the setting up of the Darul Qaza and the appointment of Qazis in Peshawar, but the government violated the agreed formula by announcing its decision unilaterally.”
He said the TNSM had nothing to do with the unilateral establishment of the Darul Qaza and appointment of Qazis. “We had pinned high hopes on the final round of talks and, subsequently, the establishment of the Darul Qaza and the judges’ appointment, but the government disappointed us by doing all this without taking TNSM chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad into confidence,” the spokesman regretted. He alleged that the provincial government had violated the agreed formula.
He said they had decided that after halting the military operation, establishing the Darul Qaza and appointing Qazis in the Malakand Division, the Taliban would be asked to lay down arms to pave the way for the smooth implementation of the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation.
However, the provincial government established the Darul Qaza and appointed two judges of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Mohiuddin and Ziauddin Khattak, as its Qazis without taking the TNSM leaders into confidence.
The TNSM and the provincial government’s statements have sent a wave of fear among the people of Malakand Division as, according to them, both were not on the same page on the enforcement of Shariah in the area. They feared that differences between the government and the TNSM would ultimately lead to the eruption of violence in the troubled areas again.

Source