PESHAWAR, June 12: Councillors belonging to tribal agencies have asked the government to give them necessary powers to serve the masses. They threatened to launch a protest movement if the demand was not met by June 30.

The demand was made at a seminar held at the Peshawar Press Club on Sunday. The seminar, attended by about 200 councillors from seven tribal units, also adopted six resolutions unanimously. Sardar Amal Jan presided over the meeting. The councillors formed a grand alliance which through a unanimously adopted resolution set June 30 as a deadline for the federal government to grant them necessary powers, otherwise a protest movement would be launched from Khyber to Islamabad.

Through another resolution, the councillors demanded representation of Fata in the National Financial Commission (NFC) and establishment of a Fata House in Islamabad.

Another resolution called for exemption of councillors from arrests in collective and regional disputes, besides asking the government to take them into confidence before incorporating any amendment to the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR).

The councillors urged President Pervez Musharraf and NWFP Governor Khalilur Rahman to equip them with decision-making powers regarding developmental programmes in their areas, call monthly meetings of every agency council, establish a separate secretariat for each agency council and made appointment, transfer and posting of all officers related to Fata departments in consultation with councillors.

For every agency council, nazim, naib nazim or chairman should be appointed in consultation with the agency council, they demanded.

Speaking at the seminar, a councillor, Salam Mehsud, said in the past 57 years, all rulers whether military or elected had ignored tribesmen and used them and their territory for their own interests.

Salam Mehsud announced that if their demands were not met by June 30, councillors would launch a protest movement against the government from July 8 and all 400 Fata councillors would lodge their protest in front of the Governor’s House.

He said besides holding protest demonstrations in all the seven agencies they would also stage a protest demonstration in front of the Awan-i-Saddar in Islamabad.

Malik Waris Khan, Haji Gul Shah, Haji Khan Marjan, Sailab Mehsud, Amer Jaith Singh and Dr Khalilur Rehman also spoke on the occasion.