PESHAWAR, July 19: NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (rtd) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai has urged tribal elders to help the government establish its writ and tell militants to leave Pakistan “with honour and dignity”.

Addressing a 45-member inter-tribal jirga at the Governor’s House on Wednesday, he said continued violence in Waziristan tribal region must be stopped to pave way for development.

“Foreign elements in the area should be clearly told to leave our soil with honour and dignity,” he told the jirga which will leave for North Waziristan’s regional headquarters Miramshah on Thursday to meet tribal militants to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

An official statement quoted the governor as saying that criminals from the settled areas who had taken refuge in tribal area should be weeded out for creating a development-friendly environment in Fata.

The jirga has representation of all tribal agencies and frontier regions and also includes parliamentarians, leading tribal elders and Ulema.

“We are passing through a very difficult and delicate phase of our history. The current situation demands that we should take every step with caution and deep sense of commitment and responsibility,” Mr Aurakzai added.

With regard to the mandate and jurisdiction of the jirga the governor said it would have to make all-out efforts to bring peace in Fata in general and in Waziristan in particular. He said the jirga should take decisions in the supreme national interest.

Mr Aurakzai said that the government had been working on a Rs100 billion 10-year development plan for the tribal areas.

Members of the jirga assured the governor that they would strive to come up to his expectations.

APP ADDS: The governor expressed the hope that the jirga would succeed in its efforts to bring lasting peace in the area as the government and tribesmen had reposed confidence in it.