PESHAWAR, April 4: A tribal jirga which concluded here on Sunday, urged the government to stop military action in the South Waziristan region and trust the tribesmen who are making sacrifices to restore peace in the area.
The three-day jirga, also demanded abolition of the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), a legacy of the British Raj, and unanimouslyaskedthe federal government toextendthe jurisdiction of the superior judiciary to dispense justice in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata).
The jirga organized by the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) at the Al Markaz-i-Islami here, was attended by elders from seven tribal agencies and six Frontier regions. The JI's chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad presided over the concluding session of the jirga. The army action in the South Waziristan was the core topic and speakers denounced the operation and the killing of civilians.
A joint declaration issued later termed the military operation in Wana against the so-called foreign militants and their tribal protectors a continuation of the US agenda to establish its military and political hegemony in the region.
The declaration said that tribesmen were real defenders of the country, who believed in peace, but would not allow any power to use their territory for the nefarious policies of the US and its agents.
The jirga asked the government to compensate heirs of those who lost their lives in the Operation Kaloosha-II in the Azam Warsak area, rebuild their houses, release all detained people and announce development package for the area. "The government should tender apology for killing innocent people and humiliating the tribesmen during the army operation," said the declaration.
Demanding political and administrative reforms for the Fata, the jirga suggested that the government should give right of appeal to the tribesmen in the Supreme Court and Federal Shariat Court against decisions taken under the FCR.
The government should curtail the powers of political agents, set an elected council for each tribal agency and establish a supreme council for the Fata. Earlier, speaking at the jirga, Qazi Hussain Ahmad criticised the operation, saying the army had forgotten the motto of Jihad and started killing its own people.
He said that the operation in Azam Warsak had widened the gap between the army and the people, while the situation posed a serious threat to the country's integrity.
"The masses no longer trust the military as they had assumed the role of paid soldiers," Qazi said, adding that senior officers of the army became real estate agents or business tycoons during the course of their service.
He alleged that the government had adopted a divide and rule policy in the tribal areas to pit the tribes against each other. He urged the tribal population to forge unity among their ranks and foil designs of the imperialist forces.
