PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-i-Islami Fata has decided to hold a peace jirga for the region at Nishtar Hall in the provincial capital on May 1.

According to JI Fata chief Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed, people from all walks of life are to participate in the event, where Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq and JI chief Sirajul Haq will be among the speakers.

“Members of the Taliban and government peace committees will also be invited to the moot to know about the violence-affected tribesmen’s problems, especially damages to their life and property. This will help push the relevant authorities for concrete steps to end the volatile situation,” he told a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday.

Flanked by JI Fata leaders Dr Munsif Khan, Shah Faisal Afridi, Shah Jahan Afridi and Professor Abdur Raqeeb, Mr Rasheed said it was not an all parties’ conference but a peace jirga, where people would participate on the basis of their association with Fata to discuss their issues and give suggestions to the Taliban-government negotiating committees for restoring normalcy in the region in line with the wishes and needs of the local residents.

He urged the government and Taliban committees to present actual issues and problems faced by the Fata people.

The JI Fata chief called for serious efforts to address the problems facing tribesmen, who, he said, had rendered numerous sacrifices during the military operations.

He said the successive government deliberately kept Fata backward, while the prolonged military operations had rendered educational, health and communication facilities completely shattered in the region.

Mr Rasheed, a former MNA from Bajuar Agency, said the prolonged war on terrorism had left thousands of people dead and injured and over 2.5 million people displaced but the government had yet to take steps for the victims’ rehabilitation.

He said most displaced people lived under miserable conditions awaiting the government’s assistance for rehabilitation.

The JI Fata chief said the government was duty bound to take tangible steps for the welfare of Fata people by reviving local economy and agricultural sector and reconstructing schools and health centres.