PESHAWAR, July 2: The leaders of different political and religious parties from Fata will attend a jirga, to be held at Nishtar Hall on July 4 under the aegis of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, against drone attacks and military operations in tribal areas.

“The leaders of political parties, elected representatives, doctors and lawyers have been invited to the jirga to raise the issues faced by tribal people,” Syed Kabeer, a JUI leader in tribal areas, told a press conference here on Saturday.

Flanked by Dr Munsif Khan and Shah Jehan of Jamaat-i-Islami, Iqbal Afridi of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf and leaders of other parties, he said that only innocent people, majority of them children and women, were killed in drone attacks.

He said that the newly promulgated Actions in Aid of Civil Power - 2011 Regulations Bill for Fata/Pata was in violation of human rights. He said that the new regulation for Fata was worse than the black law of FCR. Under the new regulation political agents could award death sentence and life imprisonment besides heavy fines to tribesmen, he said, adding the powers were not available even under FCR.

Mr Kabeer said that tribal people had already been suffering owing to FCR and the new regulation would lead to unrest and chaos in tribal regions.

“The government should have brought reforms in the draconian law but instead it made lives of tribal people further miserable,” he added. He said that ruling parties were responsible for killings of innocent people in operations as they gave legal cover to illegal actions.

He demanded of President Asif Ali Zardari to withdraw the new regulation, stop drone attacks and military operations besides compensating tribal people and extending help to them for rehabilitation and reconstruction. —Bureau Report