ISLAMABAD, April 19: Lawmakers and elders of Kurram Agency unanimously decided here on Tuesday to take up the issue of 35 passengers kidnapped from Thall-Parachinar Road with the KP governor besides pressing the security forces for ensuring safety on the route.

MNA from Kurram Agency Sajid Hussain Turi told Dawn that this was for the first time that the two major tribes in the volatile Kurram Agency -- Turi and Mengal -- had passed on the buck to the government regarding safety of their tribesmen on Thall-Parachinar Road and many other issues as in the past, the two tribes were holding each other responsible for any untoward incident in the tribal area.

“The Thall-Parachinar Road was re-opened with the mutual efforts of tribal elders. Now the government and security forces were wholly responsible for safeguarding the road,” the MNA said.

About Tuesday’s jirga, the lawmaker said that about 30 tribal elders including MNA Munir Orakzai collectively decided to involve the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for peace in Kurram Agency.

Mr Turi regretted that the government had completely ignored the safety of passengers traveling on the route adding that the recovery of the 35 missing commuters was the duty of law enforcement agencies.

He said that both Mengal and Turi tribes would support military operation against the militant group fuelling sectarian clashes in the tribal agency. “If the government keeps mum over the suffering of the people, then we have other options to force the government to take practical step for the peace in Parachinar,” he said.

Mansab Ali, a tribal elder, told Dawn that a third force which had no affiliation with any of the two tribes was destroying peace in the tribal agency, adding that both the federal and provincial governments had completely ignored their responsibility to maintain law and order in the area.

Munir Orakzai said that KP Governor Barrister Masud Kausar would be requested to take up the issue of kidnapped passengers with the security forces.