RAWALPINDI, March 25: Sajid Hussain Turi, a lawmaker from the restive Kurram Agency, has said that the Friday attack on a minibus carrying Shia passengers proved that the agreement signed by the two warring tribes last month is a useless document. Talking to Dawn on Friday, MNA Sajid Turi said that the attack on passengers by terrorists was a failure of security agencies and a serious breach of the peace deal (Amman Jirga) that the Sunni and Shia tribes had signed in the Interior Ministry on Feb 5.

“According to the agreement Sunni tribes would be held responsible for an attack on the Shia community carried out in their territory and vice versa. Since the signing of the deal, the Shia community has been attacked six times in Sunni-dominated areas. Who is responsible now? If we are not Pakistanis then we will have to decide our future course of action,” the distraught lawmaker said.

He said the Bagun area where the minibus was attacked was Sunni-dominated area.

“I don’t blame the Sunni tribe for the attack but one thing is certain that Taliban have been provided shelter by the Mengal tribe,” Mr Turi said.

He said that peace deal announced by Interior Minister Rehman Malik had been worked out by 50 members from each of the two tribes, including former senators from various tribal agencies. He regretted that the government had demonstrated no sincerity and commitment to implementing the agreement.

“On March 15, a missile was fired on Pewarh village which claimed the life of 17-year-old student Shezan Ali. Another passenger coach was attacked on Thall-Parachinar Road recently but we did not retaliate and hoped the situation would improve,” he said.

“But the increasing attacks on our people have compelled me to say that the peace deal is useless. My constituents are indignant because the Turi tribe has not breached the peace deal,” Mr Sajid Turi, who is also Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee on States and Frontier Region (Safron), said.

He called upon elders of the Sunni tribe either to stop Taliban from killing innocent Shia people or join the Turi tribe and oppose terrorists in Kurram Agency.

“If Sunni tribe cannot stop Taliban from slaughtering Shia people then they must join us in supporting the military operation in Kurram Agency,” he said.