KHYBER: A group of 18 former parliamentarians from erstwhile Fata have offered their services for restoration of peace in the volatile Kurram and other troubled tribal districts.

They made the offer during a meeting held in Peshawar on Saturday.

The group expressed its concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Kurram and other merged districts, and called upon the security establishment and the political leadership to focus their attention on restoring peace in these regions.

In a statement issued after the meeting, they cautioned that if the prevailing situation was not brought under control immediately, it could spread to the whole country.

The statement reminded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that restoration of peace was its responsibility after the passage of the 25th Constitutional Amendment, but regretted that it had failed to shoulder its constitutional obligation.

Say they’ll meet govt, military leadership to address sense of deprivation in ex-Fata

The former parliamentarians said they were under a moral obligation to offer their services for negotiating a peace deal as the process of merger was still underway and the federal government was yet to meet the promise of mainstreaming the merged districts.

They decided to hold meetings with federal and provincial government functionaries along with the military leadership in order to find a workable solution to the existing situation in Kurram and other troubled areas.

Later, the former parliamentarians, including Hamidullah Jan Afridi, Shaukatullah Khan, Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Saleh Shah and Mian Mohammad Hussain, met Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi at the Governor’s House and conveyed to him their sentiments about the security situation in the merged districts.

Later, talking to Dawn, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, former federal minister and an ex-MNA from Khyber district, said the governor assured them of his full support in their efforts for the restoration of peace and arranging their meetings with the prime minister and the president.

He said Mr Kundi invited them to a jirga about Kurram situation to be held in Kohat on Sunday (today) and also to the Dec 5 multiparty conference convened at the Governor’s House.

Mr Afridi, however, said their group was not happy with the ‘non-serious’ approach of both the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments, and alleged they were instead busy in a blame game against each other rather than striving to bring lasting peace to Kurram, Tirah and other troubled spots.

He said the former parliamentarians had vast experience in dealing with issues of tribal areas, and they also had support of local population, which would help negotiate a peace deal for the region.

He said it was time the security establishment and federal government were duly informed about the miseries of tribesmen. He insisted military operations and use of force could not yield the desired results.

Former senator Abdur Raziq Afridi also called for ending the sense of deprivation among the people of tribal districts, and recommended a frank discussion among all the stakeholders to find a peaceful solution to the problems.

He said tribesmen were not happy with the change of constitutional status of their region as it could not bring any qualitative change in their lives.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024