Musharraf to attend peace Jirga

Islamabad, Aug 11: The United States welcomed the decision of President Pervez Musharraf to attend Pak-Afghan Joint Jirga.

US State Department said that President Musharraf's decision to attend Pak-Afghan Jirga bespeaks Pakistan's sincerity in war against terrorism.

President Musharraf decided to attend the concluding session of Pak-Afghan Jirga on Saturday in Kabul.

The Foreign Ministry said Musharraf agreed "in principle" to address the closing session of the joint Pak-Afghan peace jirga.

Musharraf agreed to address the anti-terror conference after Afghan President Hamid Karzai phoned him, the ministry said.

Karzai said that Musharraf's personal participation would be a source of support and encouragement for the jirga, The News reported.

Musharraf was originally due to attend the opening of the conference on Thursday, but pulled out of the three-day long Joint Peace Jirga, reportedly on security grounds.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz attended the opening session of the ongoing three-day Jirga in Kabul.

Karzai first suggested the idea of a joint Afghan-Pakistan peace jirga during talks with US President George W Bush in September.

In October, Karzai said he saw the jirga as an attempt to revive Pashtun civil society on both sides of the border, to combat what he called the growing "Talebanisation" of the region.

Jirgas are a traditional method of decision-making and dispute-resolution. The Taleban have denounced the jirga, calling the process "George Bush's initiative".

ANI

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