PARACHINAR: An all parties conference (APC) in Parachinar on Sunday has given the government one-week deadline to open the main roads in the region and take action against militants threatening peace or get ready to face protests.

The APC was called to discuss the closure of the main roads leading to Kurram Agency who had seen clashes between armed groups last year. The Thall-Parachinar has been closed for the last one and a half year.

The conference attended by the religious, political and welfare organizations. Inayat Turi, Mussarrat Hussain, Gulfam Bangash, Rauf Turi and other elders speaking at the conference expressed concern over militants control on all the main roads which had resulted in the area being completely cut off.

The agency, they said, has suffered economically due to the closure of roads and destruction at the hands of the militants. Children and other patients were not able to get medicines from the market. Food items were also scarce in the market, the participants said.

The conference demanded that government end its silence on the issue and take immediate action to open the roads and establish peace in the region. The government should not delay and must take quick action against the foreign militants who destroyed peace of the Kurram Agency.

The government should take immediate steps to establish peace within a week’s time otherwise all organizations and parties in the agency would be forced to launch a protest movement, they warned.