ISLAMABAD, Sept 9: Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has condemned the massacre of tribals in a military operation in South Waziristan and demanded constitution of a parliamentary committee to probe into the tragic incident.

In a statement on Thursday, Imran Khan termed the killings extra-judicial and held the rulers responsible for it. He said the very foundations of the federation were being destroyed brick by brick. He said if any criminal activity was taking place in the area then evidence should be collected and the alleged criminals brought to justice.

Mr Khan said a military action against fellow citizens should never be an option as it will lead to the disintegration of the federation. "For generations, these people have endured poverty just to pay for a strong army that can protect them from external aggression.

But instead of protecting the people, the military Junta is forcing the army to act like the US occupation army in Iraq and the Israeli army in occupied Palestine," he said.

Imran Khan reminded General Musharraf that his spokespersons were calling tribals as miscreants, a term that was used to describe Bengalis killed by the army in former East Pakistan. "At that time also the official media had misled the nation and now again irreversible damage was being done to the federation."

He said the military Junta had learnt no lessons from our tragic past when half the country was lost just because a military despot was not willing to hand over power and the transition to democracy ended with the separation of East Pakistan.

Imran Khan said their predictions that the ongoing military operations in the tribal areas would lead to a full-scale insurgency were coming true. This is an intolerable situation with grave consequences for the federation, he added.