DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A grand jirga of Mehsud elders was held with the political administration of South Waziristan in Tank on Wednesday to present demands of the displaced tribe to the government.
They requested the government to clear the Mehsud area (Ladha and Sarwakai sub-division) of South Waziristan of militants so the Mehsuds could return to their homes.
The jirga also asked the government to rebuild destroyed houses and members of the tribe be compensated for the material damages caused by the military operation in the area.
Calling their condition as one of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the elders said three years had passed since the military operation was launched in their area, adding that the government should fulfill their demands as soon as possible.
The Mehsuds also requested that the annual development programme (ADP) be distributed among the various tribes of South Waziristan Agency as per ‘nikat’ (the traditional tribal distribution method) under which the Mehsud tribe would have three shares, while the Wazir tribe would only have one share.
They also asked the government to protect the boundaries of Mehsud land, bordering with North Waziristan and Wana of South Waziristan. The elders also expressed displeasure over the displacement of families of the Mehsud tribes from the Wana sub-division of South Waziristan (Ahmadzai Wazir tribe area), saying the Mehsud and Wazir tribes were each other’s brothers and should help each other in difficult times such as these. The grand jirga was presided over by Shazadah Hamayum, also known as the prince of the Mehsud tribe.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2012.
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Pak army has taken oath to safe guard the sovereignity and integrity of the nation . The sovereignity has been lost and now integrity is being threatened . The main facter responsible for such humiliation to the army are those who are bearing illeagal arms .Therefore army should come forward to disarm them at the earliest otherwise the existance of the country will be on stake . Gen. Musarraf has taken a bold step through Red Star operation in this regard . Such operation should continue wherever is required with no discrimination .
It is not understandable why the army refuses to move against the militants in south waziristan... especially Hakimullah Mahsud. Out of 6 tehsils in which an operation was launched in Waziristan in 2009 (Rah e Nijat) (there are 8 total) only 1 has actually been cleared.That is Sararogha which the military constantly said was its target... but Ladha, Makeen and a lot of areas remain completely under militant control.
With no single senior Taliban commander dead this really is a disgrace to the Pakistan army. The government doesn't care, the soldiers don't care. Not at all a surprise... the situation. Is it?
Maybe the Jirga should make the request to the USA?