Military operation in Kurram Agency urged

Militants have been targeting innocent people but the govt is unmoved, laments rights group.

ISLAMABAD: Chairman Kurram Agency Human Rights Association (KAHRA) Air Marshal (retd) Syed Qasir Hussain on Sunday urged the government to take practical steps to bring peace in the region.

While addressing a press conference, Hussain said that local residents of Parachanar were being affected due to the sliding law and order situation in Kurram Agency.

He said that militants have been targeting innocent people since long, adding that the government has failed to protect its citizens.

The chairman said that last week as many as 1,500 militants attacked different villages including Sherina, Kotki, Mangal Kehwas, Khera-din, and killed many innocent people, yet the government is reluctant to start a military operation against the terrorists.

He assured full support to the Pakistan Army to launch a military operation against militants in Parachanar who hailed from the Afghan border.

Hussain said that some elements want to destabilise peace in Parachanar but the government must not ignore people of this region, who are patriotic and have sacrificed a lot for the country.

He demanded that the government reopen roads leading to Parachanar as there is an acute shortage of food and medicine in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2010.