PESHAWAR, June 5: The National Awami Party Pakistan has warned that the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan may cause political strife in the tribal belt and create distrust amongst tribesmen towards "ill-advised policies of Islamabad."
Speaking at a joint news conference here at the Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, NAP secretary-general Abdul Latif Afridi and NAP provincial chief Shahabuddin Khan of Pasht said it was unwise to punish the entire tribal people for the wrongdoing of Al Qaeda or Taliban militants hiding in the area.
They held the American CIA and its Pakistani counterparts responsible for transporting foreign militants to the tribal area during the Afghan war to fight against the Russian forces.
After 9/11, they said, once again Wana had become a flashpoint where army troops were chasing the elusive Al Qaeda and Taliban agents engaged in violent attacks on the US forces across the border in eastern provinces of Afghanistan.
The step-motherly attitude meted out to the tribal people during the last 58 years had left them illiterate and backward, they added.
They said one day the government dubbed Nek Mohammad an enemy and the next day they declared him their friend and put garlands around his neck. Who was responsible for this somersault, they asked.
They said: "Gen Pervez Musharraf claims the terrorists are 600 in numbers, while intelligence agencies say they are around 2,500 and engaged in hit-and-run exercises inside Afghanistan. Fata has earned importance, because it provides some escape routes and hideouts to the fleeing groups of Al Qaeda and Taliban agents".
The security forces deployed in Southern Wazirsitan had set up blockade around Wana to punish the Ahmedzai Wazirs for harbouring Al Qaeda agents in their area, which was a human rights violation because it was targeting an entire tribe and not criminals, they added.
Replying to a question, they said that Fata secretariat was formed to extend the governor's authority up to Fata and clip the wings of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal.
They said those who had brought terrorists from all over the world should be punished for the present mess in the tribal area.
The hostile stance of security forces against tribesmen might cause negative effect on the entire area, they added.
They said the NAPP had decided to convene a tribal convention by August 14 to highlight the plight of the tribal people. They would invite 10,000 people belonging to different political and religious parties to attend the convention, they said.
They urged the government to extend the Political Parties Act to Fata, allocate 10-fold development funds for the tribal areas, set up separate industrial estates in each tribal agency, repeal the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR), hold local bodies elections and delegate powers to the elected representatives of Fata people.