PESHAWAR/KOHAT, Oct 5: Leaders of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf have blamed the government for creating hurdles in the way of the party’s peace march to South Waziristan Agency on Saturday (today) and warned that responsibility for any untoward incident will rest with the government.

In their separate press conferences at Peshawar Press Club on Friday, former PTI provincial president Asad Qaisar and former secretary information Saad Abdullah asked the government to fulfil its duty and ensure protection of participants of the march.

Former coordinator of Pakistan People’s Party, Fata, Ayesha Gulalai Wazir also announced joining PTI on the occasion.

“The march will convey a message of peace and help highlight miseries the tribal people have been facing due to prolonged military operations and incessant drone attacks,” said Mr Asad.

He said that a large number of civilians had been killed and maimed in parts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in the name of war against terrorism. He said that the tribesmen were intentionally not being provided adequate facilities of education, water, communication, health etc. to keep them backward.

Mr Asad said that the peace march to Waziristan was an effective way to convey a message of peace to the entire world as tribesmen were patriotic citizens of the country. He said that the PTI had no political agenda and the march was aimed at highlighting problems of tribesmen at international level.

At a separate press conference Mr Abdullah claimed that PTI’s proposed peace march had baffled the rulers, who were busy creating hurdles in its way. He said that over 100 foreign women from different countries, including US, UK, and France, would participate in the peace march to South Waziristan.

Flanked by Sher Bahadur and others, he asked the administration to take appropriate steps for provision of security to participants of the march. He said that there was no threat to marchers from Taliban.

Ms Ayesha said that she joined PTI as it raised voice against the unending miseries of Fata people.

“It is duty of the state to provide protection to lives and properties of people and solve their problems, but the government has failed to fulfill its responsibilities,” she said.

Meanwhile, PTI’s Kohat district leader Mirwais Shinwari said in a statement on Friday that innocent tribesmen were being killed in drone attacks while political and religious parties had kept themselves limited to issuing statements only. He said South Waziristan had been ruined in the last 10 years and now was the time to act to save it from the US attacks.

He recalled that the tribesmen had been safeguarding the country’s western borders since independence. He appealed to people to join the march to highlight miseries of the tribesmen.