PESHAWAR, Jan 7: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday announced a compensation package of Rs280 million for the heirs of those killed in Fata in attacks by militants.

A total of 610 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured in the area.

Addressing a grand tribal jirga comprising all seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions at the Governor’s House, the president said he was not oblivious to the problems facing the tribal people and was working from day one to mitigate their sufferings.

The president announced an immediate increase in the development outlay for Fata by Rs3 billion, raising it to Rs11 billion from Rs8 billion.

He also announced a twofold increase in the ADP-financed Fata uplift plan — from Rs8 billion to Rs16 billion.

He called upon the tribesmen to demonstrate patience and avoid getting involved in violent acts which will benefit opponents.

He thanked tribal representatives for reposing confidence in him by voting in his favor in the presidential elections and promised to honor all the pledges made by Benazir Bhutto.

The president said that the militants had misused “our soil to launch attacks on the institutions of our country.”

The president regretted that no serious effort was made during last 10 years to tackle militancy and there was a total lack of decision-making among policy-makers at that time.

He said a new thinking was taking shape in the US administration about Pakistan’s tribal regions.

“We will also tell them that problems in our region could be best settled through our own process. They need only assurances, which was lacking in the country for the last eight to ten years. We will assure them that the problems of militancy would be resolved.”

Mr Zardari said time had come to change world opinion about militancy in Fata and the NWFP.

The president referred to ‘Friends of Pakistan’ which “helped us in making clear our point of view to the world.”

He said that the international community had now started “appreciating our stance.”

NWFP Governor Owais Ghani said over 800 tribal elders, maliks and tribesmen had lost their lives in the “war against terror.”

He admitted that war against terror could not be won without tribes’ support.

Parliamentary leader of MNAs and Senators from Fata Haji Munir Aurakzai, called for immediate end to drone attacks.

Malik Waris Khan Afridi called for an early end to attacks in the tribal belt and called for a hefty package for deprived tribal areas.—APP