PESHAWAR, Nov 9: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has decided to approach the Peshawar High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the Bajaur air strike and to plead for awarding punishment to people responsible for the attack.

Before moving the courts against the attack on a Bajaur seminary, the alliance would organise a “Tahafuz-e-Qabail” conference on Nov 19, MMA’s provincial secretary Mushtaq Ahmad and MNAs Sahibzada Haroon Rashid and Shujaul Mulk told a joint news conference at the press club here on Wednesday.

They said family members of Bajaur victims would soon be presented before the media to tell the nation the truth and expose the government's claims,

Welcoming the “Pakhtun aman jirga”, being organised by the Awami National Party, the MMA leaders said the ANP had taken a positive step and they would participate in the jirga. The MMA would also organise a similar conference on Nov 19, which would be addressed by the alliance’s central leaders, they said.

Rejecting the government's claims about militancy training in Bajaur, Mr Rashid, MNA from Bajaur Agency, said mostly poor students had become victims of the attack by a “US spy plane”. “No military training could be conducted in a madressah situated on a 1.5 kanals of land,” he said. “All students were local and soon their families will be presented before the media to reveal the truth” he said.

He urged the government to allow human rights activists and media men to visit Bajaur to compile an independent report.

About his resignation from the National Assembly, Mr Rashid said he would tender his resignation on Nov 10.

About the Dargai attack, he Rashid said the attack on military men had no connection with Bajaur and those linking it with Bajaur were misleading the nation. “It is a conspiracy to link the Dargai suicide attack with Bajaur. Peaceful tribesmen do not harm anybody,” he added.

He said linking the Dargai attack with the Bajaur incident was aimed at pitching the people against the army.—PPI