PESHAWAR, March 15: The Waziristan Students Association has asked the federal government to stop what it said was the killing of innocent tribal people being committed in the area in the name of so-called operation against Al Qaeda fugitives.

Speaking at a news conference here at the Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Naqeebullah Khan Wazir, Zafarullah Wazir, Saad Salman Mehsud and Amanullah Khan Wazir demanded that the government should take stern action against the political administration of Fata.

They asked the government to pay compensation to the families of tribesmen killed during the operation. The speakers, belonging to the WSA Peshawar University unit, urged the government to replace the Frontier Crimes Regulations with a new legal package, ensuring human rights to tribesmen.

They appealed to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and other NGOs to extend their networks to Fata and work for the betterment of tribesmen who, they added, had been denied basic rights for the last 57 years.

They complained that media was portraying a wrong image of tribal people. They asked the government to establish women educational institutions in Fata.