MANSEHRA, Aug 16: A tribal Jirga held in Darband on Thursday criticized the operation being carried out in the tribal belt of Kala Dhaka.

The participants of the Jirga termed the government operation on the pretext of apprehending Al Qaeda men and outlaws an attempt to do away with the tribal status of Kala Dhaka and to merge it with the settled areas of Mansehra district.

The Jirga members accused the District Nazim of Mansehra, Mohammad Azam Khan Swati of meddling in the affairs of Kala Dhaka for achieving his political ends, as they claimed, he had nominated his cousin Faiz Mohammad Khan for the upcoming election from NA-20, Mansehra-2 constituency which also comprises the tribal belt of Kala Dhaka.

They said the district government of Mansehra on the behest of Azam Swati had adopted a resolution on Jan 23, demanding merger of Kala Dhaka with the settled areas of the district. They added that the District Nazim later had also held a number of meetings with the NWFP governor in this regard.

The Jirga members claimed that the district government of Mansehra was bent upon disturbing peaceful atmosphere of the area. They said there were no Al Qaeda men or anti-social elements in the Kala Dhaka area and the ongoing operation was purely aimed at undoing the tribal status of the Kala Dhaka.

The Jirga demanded immediate withdrawal of the FC troops from the Kala Dhaka area. It also demanded that if the government doubts the presence of Al Qaeda men or outlaws in Kala Dhaka, the task of handling those elements be assigned to the Qaumi Lashkar.

The tribal elders said so far the people of Kala Dhaka had put no resistance to the FC troops and vowed that they would make all efforts to frustrate government designs of undoing the 375-year-old tribal status of Kala Dhaka.

The Jirga, convened by former MPA, Haji Zarin Khan, was largely attended by the elders of all the five tribes of the area, including Shareen Gul Khan, Nazim of union council Darband, Haji Bahadur Khan, Sultan Khan, Haji Saifullah and Jamal Khan.

Meanwhile, some 4000 FC troops headed by the assistant district officer of FC and the political tehsildar Oghi have reached Joodbah, the central town of Kala Dhaka without any resistance and no clash or any untoward incident has taken place.

The troops have also  entered Kunharzai and other areas of Kala Dhaka without facing any resistance but due to rains for the last four days, the operation was going at a snail’s pace.