PESHAWAR, Dec 2: The former MNA from the Bajuar Agency, Haroon Rashid, has said that a tribal jirga would be held to decide about the upcoming by-election in the Bajaur Agency. Mr Rashid was released from detention of the political administration of the Frontier Region, Kohat, recently.

Addressing a press conference, Mr Rashid, who resigned from his National Assembly membership in protest against the Bajaur incident, said if the tribesmen wanted to protect their self respect, they should reject the by-election and refuse to take part in it.

He was accompanied by Zar Noor Afridi and other leaders of Jamaat-i-Islami.

Terming parliament a rubber stamp, he said that the tribesmen were being befooled by the staging of by-polls, adding that the jirga would discuss a host of important issues.

Rebuffing a statement appearing in some newspapers that he had brokered a deal with the political administration, the former MNA said that he had neither struck a deal nor would he back down from leading the protest movement in Fata.

“My release is not part of any deal. Two other tribal leaders Mohammad Irfan and Sajjid Khan are still in detention, which is against the basic human rights,” he said and promised that peaceful anti-government and anti-America protests would continue.

Criticising the government, he accused the centre of serving the US interests and said that it had gone to the extent that it even owned responsibility for the killing of innocent people in the Bajaur Agency who had been targeted by US planes.—PPI