Three committees were formed to fight for compensation, to hold talks with the IG police over the harassment of Bara tribesmen in Peshawar. PHOTO: FILE
A representative jirga of elders from Bara, Khyber Agency has asked the government to form a commission of well-reputed retired judges and bureaucrats to investigate civilian killings.
The tribal elders expressed their views on the deteriorating law and order in Khyber Agency in a jirga held at Hayatabad on Wednesday.
Three committees were formed to fight for compensation, to hold talks with the inspector general of police over the harassment of Bara tribesmen in Peshawar and to reopen Bara bazaar for business. The bazaar has been under curfew since the military operation started in November 2009.
The committees will be headed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Afridi, former senator Muhammad Shah Afridi and former state minister Malak Waris Khan Afridi.
The jirga had already presented a list of demands and the government had agreed to some, such as compensation for the families of ‘innocent’ people killed during military operations and an inquiry into civilian killings. Khyber Agency Political Agent Mutahir Zeb Khan had agreed to Rs0.7 million for each tribesman’s family. He also said he would form an independent inquiry into missing persons in the agency and that they would be released within 24 hours if found innocent.
But the other demands – the end to the curfew in Bara Bazaar and stray mortar shelling – had yet to be met, said jirga member Shah Jahan Afridi on Wednesday.
In order to tackle them, Malak Waris Khan will head a committee that will meet Political Agent Mutahir Zeb Khan on Thursday to negotiate the possibility of allowing Bara Bazaar to get back to business and to put an end to stray mortar shelling, which has led to scores of civilian deaths.
The jirga held a separate meeting of its own. According to a member, who preferred to remain unnamed given that the negotiations are ongoing, they plan to ask the political agent to hold talks with leaders of the banned militant faction, Lashkar-e-Islam, before Bara Bazaar is reopened, to ensure security of the area. This was not the only group of elders to consider talks. A jirga in Hayatabad on Tuesday also demanded the government negotiate with the militants to resolve the conflict in the agency. One elder pointed out that tribesmen had suffered great financial losses due to militancy, curfews and military operations. Members urged the government to reach a peaceful resolution through dialogue instead of military operations.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2013.
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Let's take this step by step. Get Peshawar Police to go easy on the IDP's. They are treating the IDP's esp those from Bara more like Afghans in Peshawar now. Let the curfew be lifted in the main Bara area first and gradually lift it from other areas. The Army and FC can remain there to ensure whatever they are supposed to ensure (for a change). I think it is time for the security forces to move to Tirah to finally kill Mangal Bagh. The political agent should not be chief negotiator. It should be the political parties. The Army and Political Admin must have secondary role. It is vital that the people feel empowered by this negotiation process or it will fail. Militants can then be convinced to lay down weapons. Some will. Pakistan has failed miserably in getting Taliban to lay down weapons though it happens quite often in Afghanistan. But then Pakistan and Afghanistan government do not have the same view of terrorism. With political parties playing a greater role in creating peace, we can expect the guns to go silent in the future.
Dear there is no Imran afridi among the leaders of PTI rather he is the leader of ANP