PESHAWAR, Jan 13: The ongoing military operation in the South Waziristan Agency has created a sense of deprivation among the people of the tribal area, says senior minister in the NWFP cabinet Sirajul Haq.

He was speaking to workers of the Jamaat-i-Islami here on Monday. Criticising the federal government in this regard, he said that the Centre had not taken parliamentarians from the tribal belt, adding that it had also kept the NWFP government in the dark before initiating the operation in the South Waziristan Agency.

"Repercussions of military adventurism will be very serious", he said, adding that tribesmen were the true defenders of the western borders and rendered sacrifices for the security of the country. He said that the government should discuss the situation with the Fata's MNAs and senators.

The minister said that federal government should honour all agreements signed between the founder of the nation Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and tribal leaders after the partition. He said: "Tribesmen do not deserve such harsh treatment." He urged the party's workers to focus their attention on forthcoming elections in the country.