PESHAWAR, June 29: A jirga on Tuesday backed the government action against foreign elements in the tribal areas besides unanimously endorsing a plan to introduce 'Agency Councils' in FATA and said it was in consonance with tribal customs and traditions.
The jirga demanded that the plan be implemented immediately. The grand jirga of tribal elders belonging to all Fata tribes called on NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah to discuss the prevailing situation in the tribal areas.
The NWFP governor said that these 'agency councils' would be constituted according to democratic and tribal norms, with the aim of involving tribal people in the decision-making process.
Referring to the Shakai agreement, the governor said that it showed the government's sincerity in resolving the issue of foreign elements in a peaceful manner. However, he said, certain elements had made deliberate efforts to undermine the goodwill created by the Shakai agreement, adding that these vested interests wanted to enhance their personal power at the expense of the larger national interest.
Terrorist elements, the governor said, had been rooted out and they were on the run, adding that remnants of these elements were still in South and North Waziristan tribal agencies and they were subdued and underground.
The governor warned tribal elders against their (foreign elements) possible presence in some other areas in a very small number and urged them to cooperate with the government in identifying and apprehending them.
Mr Iftikhar claimed that things were going in the right direction and the situation would soon be brought fully under control. Referring to development activities in Fata, the governor said that the annual development programme amounting to Rs4 billion would be implemented in the next financial year, adding that donor-sponsored development activities would also be undertaken in the next year.
During the same period, he said that an unprecedented amount of about half a billion rupees would be spent on the development of tribal agencies. The governor also said that the federal government had approved the Shalman water supply scheme.
