KHAAR (Bajaur Agency), Dec 20: Tribesmen signed an agreement with the political authorities on Tuesday and promised not to grow poppy in the Salarzai subdivision in return for some incentives.

The agreement was signed by the elders and Maliks of all tribes of the Salarzai subdivision at a meeting with the assistant political agent Sharifullah Khan in Khaar, the headquarters of Bajaur Agency. The meeting was attended by 120 tribal elders. Salarzai is the biggest subdivision of the agency.

The meeting decided that those who violated the agreement would be fined Rs1 million and face expulsion from the agency. In addition, the houses of violators would be set on fire if they continued to grow poppy.

Under the agreement, the tribesmen will not cultivate poppy this year and those who have already done so will destroy the crop in two days.

If the Salarzai tribesmen flout the agreement and begin to grow the banned crop in future, action would be taken against them according to tribal customs and traditions. But if they comply with the agreement, the authorities will restore their incentives and also set free in 48 hours all those arrested on charges of growing the crop.

Speaking at the jirga, Mr Sharifullah said the political administration would launch a mega development project in the backward areas of the agency next year in an effort to encourage tribesmen to give up the crop.

He also announced that work on development schemes would also be resumed shortly. These schemes had been suspended after tribesmen refused to give up poppy cultivation.

On Tuesday, the tribesmen called upon the US government to restore the incentives they had been granted for abandoning the crop.

Two weeks ago, the US government’s development arm, USAID, had suspended its programme in the agency on the grounds that poppy was being cultivated in the backward parts of the agency.