Afridi signals march on Islamabad over Tirah

KHYBER:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday announced plans to convene a province-wide grand jirga as he prepares to launch a protest march towards Islamabad over "forced displacement" of residents from Tirah Valley and a federal "U-turn" on the issue.

He also disclosed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited him for a meeting on provincial rights, where he will present the case of the people of the province "with full force and determination".

According to sources, Afridi would travel to Islamabad on Monday (today) to meet the prime minister to "plead the case of K-P's rights and secure our outstanding dues".

Addressing a large peace jirga at Jamrud Sports Complex in Khyber, the chief minister said he would soon begin consultations with stakeholders across the province, starting with visits to the merged districts, before finalising the date for a march to the federal capital.

The move comes amid a growing standoff between the federal and provincial governments over who authorised the evacuation of Tirah, after hundreds of families were compelled to leave their homes amid fears of a planned military action.

While authorities initially maintained that the evacuations were carried out with the consent of all stakeholders, including local elders, the provincial government and the military, the issue has become highly contentious after displaced families were left stranded in freezing conditions under open skies, with alleged mismanagement worsening their plight.

Earlier this week, the federal government insisted that the movement of people from Tirah was part of routine seasonal migration and denied that any military operation was planned in the valley.

However, Afridi rejected this narrative, calling the official stance "a joke" and saying the Centre had changed its position only after international media highlighted the "actual sufferings of the people of the valley".

At the jirga, the chief minister asked participants whether they would stand with him in a protest march to Islamabad to register resentment over what he termed the "atrocities" committed against the people of Tirah, their "forced displacement" and the government's reversal on the military operation.

He announced that a grand jirga would soon be convened. "We will assert at the grand jirga that only people are entitled to rule Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it belongs to them, and that no decisions made behind closed doors in Islamabad will be acceptable anymore."

Amid loud slogans from the crowd, Afridi said that "no power on the earth could shake his confidence nor could his conscience be bought if he has the solid support and backing of his own people".

He alleged that conspiracies were being hatched to either impose governor's rule in the province or have him disqualified through "concocted cases", adding that efforts were also underway to "eliminate him if he does not submit to the narrative of his political rivals".

"But I have firm faith in God and I am not scared of anyone as I am a tribal and will never budge from our stated policy about militancy and military operations," he said.

Responding to allegations of misuse of Rs4 billion allocated for displaced Tirah families, the chief minister said he would not hesitate to sanction even Rs100 billion if needed, claiming the federal government had "reneged on its promises of providing a paltry amount of Rs400,000" to victims of previous military operations.

He vowed "exemplary punishment" for anyone found guilty of irregularities in the utilisation of relief funds.

Afridi also accused the federal government of discrimination against Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, saying, "We are considered second-class citizens. But I will continue to raise my voice against this injustice as I, being a soldier of Imran Khan, know how to secure our rights".

The chief minister warned that the federal government's handling of Tirah would lead to "people losing their confidence in the security establishment".

"We have been clamouring for a long time against the presence of outlawed militant groups in different parts of K-P, particularly Tirah, and reminding the federal government that militant activities have increased. But nobody took our assertions seriously while the situation gradually went out of everybody's hands," he said.

He further stated that the people of tribal areas had always made sacrifices for the country and would "dispel the negative propaganda against them".

On the same occasion, Afridi announced the establishment of a provincial relief fund for the poor and needy, urging affluent citizens to contribute so that assistance could be distributed during Ramazan.

He also condemned the terrorist attacks carried out in different parts of Balochistan on Saturday and expressed solidarity with the affected families, saying the people of K-P shared their grief and pain.

Earlier, provincial minister Meena Khan, MNA Iqbal Afridi, and MPAs Abdul Ghani and Adnan Qadri also addressed the gathering, holding the federal government responsible for the hardships faced by the displaced families of Tirah.

Notably absent were members of the Tirah tribal jirga who had earlier negotiated the evacuation of families with provincial and security officials.

Meanwhile, the tribal elders of a tribal jirga on Tirah issue have announced complete solidarity, sympathy and full support to all the affected families who have been temporarily displaced people.

The jirga organized by Bara Political Alliance and agenda of the national jirga was presented by former chairman of Bara Political Alliance, Haji Shireen Afridi.

The participants of the Jirga raised their voices in favour of peace. The jirga leaders said the problems of the victims of Tirah are not confined to any one region or tribe, but it is a collective national problem.

They said any further delay in solution to the problems of the displaced people of Tirah is unacceptable.