PESHAWAR: Tribal elders of South Waziristan Agency have said that they are ready to take up arms in support of the armed forces in case India wages war against Pakistan.
Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Sunday, a group of tribal people led by Ajmal Wazir of PML-Q said that the threats hurled by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not suppress Pakistani nation and that New Delhi would receive crushing defeat if it launched any aggression against Pakistan.
Mr Wazir said the entire population of tribal regions was loyal to Pakistan and had nothing to do with Afghanistan, adding the people would follow whatever the Pakistani government ordered them to do.
“We are children of the tribal people who had played vital role in Kashmir against the Indian forces and we are ready to sacrifice our lives in future as well in case the Indian forces dared move towards our country,” Mr Wazir said.
Similarly, Maulana Sultan Mohammad, who is heading a peace body in Waziristan Agency, asked the Indian prime minister to hold his tongue otherwise the tribal people knew how to protect frontiers of the country.
Another elder Noor Khan Mehsud said it was duty of the government to start creating awareness among people so they could start preparations for the possible war against India.
“We will be the first to reach the border if our government ordered us to move against India,” he vowed.
Published in Dawn September 26th, 2016