PESHAWAR, Jan 16: As tension hovered over the tribal areas, Governor Ali Mohammed Jan Aurakzai held separate meetings with members of the grand jirga who brokered a peace deal in North Wazirsitan and elders from all other tribal agencies to discuss prevailing scenario in the region.
Mr Aurakzai had invited 45 members of the grand jirga to the Governor House to review the implementation of the September 5, 2006 peace agreement with the tribe and said that full implementation of the deal was imperative for its total success.
"All-out efforts are needed to pull Fata out of the difficult situation, and we cannot afford to repeat mistakes committed in the past. Therefore, we must try to resolve the differences peacefully," said the governor, according to a handout.
The jirga members had visited Miramshah last month upon completion of 100 days of the peace deal and held meetings with Utmanzai tribal elders and interlocutors of local Taliban shura to assess progress on the implementation of the agreement.
Mr Aurakzai urged the jirga members to facilitate implementation of the peace agreement and make it a success.
Talking to Dawn on Tuesday, Maulvi Nek Zaman, MNA from North Waziristan, said the jirga members were satisfied with progress on the deal and had prepared a detailed report.
"Taliban shura has some reservations, but the deal would remain intact," he said, adding that all the main clauses of the deal, including end to cross-border infiltration and attack on security forces, were strictly followed.
"Allegations regarding infiltration from the Waziristan side into Afghanistan are absolutely baseless," the tribal parliamentarian said, adding that the Afghan government was trying to hide its own failure by levelling such allegations.
Later, talking to some 300 elders from other tribal agencies, the governor said the tribal area was passing through a critical phase of its history. It was the focus of world attention due to a variety of reasons, particularly its geographic importance in the fight against terrorism, he added.
He urged all the tribes to realise the sensitivity of the situation and make a collective effort for reaching an amicable settlement of all issues confronting Fata.
