Restive borders: N Waziristan tribes told to expel militants

Jirga comprising 65 tribal elders conveys concerns to political agent.

MIRAMSHAH:

The top government administrator in North Waziristan Agency has told a tribal Jirga that the situation could not normalise in the region unless local tribes expelled militants from their areas.

The Jirga comprising 65 elders from Uthmanzai Wazir and Dawar tribes met with Siraj Ahmad Khan, the political agent of North Waziristan, at the Circuit House in the agency headquarters of Miramshah late Sunday.

Jirga members complained about the persistent curfew and recurring search operations by the security forces. The political agent, however, defended the extraordinary measures which, he said, were aimed at the militants who were targeting the security forces with roadside bombs. He added that the security forces have suffered several casualties in such attacks.

The political agent called upon the local tribes to expel militants from their areas. “If the tribesmen fail to do that, we’ll take action against them under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier crimes Regulation (FCR).”

Earlier, Haji Sher Muhammad – the successor of the legendary Faqir of Ipi and an elder of the Uthmanzai tribe – said that the Waziristan tribesmen were loyal to Pakistan, yet they were being targeted. He was referring to the recent air raids on militant hideouts in different parts of the agency which, according to local tribes, also killed innocent women, children and elderly people.

He said the local tribes have no option but to migrate to the neighbouring Afghanistan due to the ongoing security operations in Mirali and Miramshah tehsils of the agency.

He said that they wanted to solve the issue through dialogue and restore peace in the region. However, if the situation didn’t normalise and their demands went unheeded, they would meet the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governor and other high officials. “No one in the region wants war,” he reiterated. After the jirga, Haji Sher told journalists that the political agent has agreed to arrange a meeting between the tribal elders and the governor.

On Monday morning, the political administration imposed a curfew in the agency and tribesmen were told to stay indoors due to the movement of security forces in the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2014.