Information Minister Attaullah Tarar speaks alongside Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry during a press conference at the Press Information Department on Saturday. Photo: PID/Archive
The federal government on Saturday called the Khyber National Jirga a “charging letter” against the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, alleging poor governance and asking provincial authorities to apologize for what it described as the “construction of a false narrative.”
A jirga (tribal assembly) was convened today at Bara Bazaar in Khyber district under the auspices of the Khyber National Jirga.
Jirga leaders said the Tirah Valley had been evacuated by order of the provincial and federal governments and called for immediate relief efforts for affected residents. They also urged the federal government to present a plan for the return and rehabilitation of the displaced population.
Speaking to a private television channel, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said the jirga had not only demanded restoration of peace but had also leveled serious accusations against the KP government. He said the jirga had concluded that the provincial authorities were guilty of mismanagement and corruption and had failed to live up to the people’s expectations.
“This is a major allegation against the KP provincial government: the Rs 4 billion that was allocated for people’s relief, displacement, registration and attendance is not accountable,” he said.
Read: Political parties, tribal elders demand help for displaced Tirah families
Criticizing the provincial government as well as ministers and senior leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Tarar said its representatives frequently appeared on television, engaging in what he called verbal attacks and theatrics, but were absent on the ground in the Tirah Valley.
“After all, Tirah is within KP. It is a provincial subject and falls under provincial administration. Its performance is zero. The Rs 4 billion allocated to the people – the nation will demand an account of every penny and ask where that money went,” he said.
The minister said the provincial government had tried to shape a narrative, but the jirga had questioned what tangible measures had actually been taken for the people of the area.
Referring to the National Finance Commission’s allocations, he said the entire nation had made sacrifices and provided the province with billions of rupees for the fight against terrorism, but no Anti-Terrorism Department had been established, no Safe City cameras had been installed and there were no schools, colleges, hospitals or universities in Tirah.
Tarar questioned whether there were checkpoints, checkpoints or police stations in the area, adding that performance remained negligible despite extensive rhetoric.
Read also: Security official dismisses reports of military operation in Tirah Valley as ‘propaganda’
He said that in matters of law and order, the people of Tirah were turning to the Pakistan Army for protection against terrorists and to curb militant activity, adding that the jirga had also expressed confidence in the armed forces.
Demanding an apology from the KP government, Tarar said the way the situation in Tirah was exploited and the narrative built around it warranted an apology to the entire nation.
“They should fold their arms and apologize to the people of Tirah, admitting that they were wrong, that they did nothing for them and remained busy with hollow political rhetoric,” he said, adding that they are still busy with statements and trolling, while performance and delivery were completely poor.
Jirga findings expose ‘false narrative’: Talal Chaudhry
Minister of State for Home Affairs Talal Chaudhry also demanded an apology from the KP government, saying that a jirga called by a major political alliance had endorsed the federal government’s position and exposed what he called a false narrative constructed by the provincial authorities.
Speaking to a private television channel, Chaudhry said the findings of the jirga “left no room” for the version presented by the KP government.
He said it had been established that decisions regarding Tirah were made by the residents after assessing the ground realities, and that they left the area under an agreement reached between the people of Tirah and the provincial government.
“These people (the jirga) have explained, very clearly, all those things that the federal government, in one way or another, was trying to convey to the public,” he said.
Criticizing the provincial government, Chaudhry alleged that instead of fulfilling its responsibilities, it resorted to what he described as false propaganda to hide poor performance and incompetence, exacerbating the suffering of the people.
“Today’s jirga has sealed the fact that a large part of the Rs 4 billion fell victim to corruption and embezzlement, money that was meant for the people of Tirah,” he added.
Read also: PHC said neither the federal nor the KP government authorized the Tirah operation
He further said that the jirga had determined that none of the promises made to the people of Tirah regarding the construction of hospitals, schools and police stations had been fulfilled. According to him, despite the passage of eight to nine years since 2017, not a single hospital was built in the area.
Chaudhry said residents were forced to migrate due to lack of basic facilities and absence of a court order from the government. He added that when federal forces were deployed to restore peace, they were met with accusations instead of cooperation.
He said forces committed to restoring peace, combating militancy and ensuring security were subjected to what he called baseless accusations, rather than the provincial government acknowledging its own shortcomings.
“Instead of admitting their own mistakes, they fabricated lies and false accusations against the same army that became a savior of the people, that is fighting there, expelling and killing Khwarij, and restoring peace to them,” Chaudhry said.
Reiterating his demand, Chaudhry said that in light of the findings of the jirga, there was no justification for the KP government to remain silent, insisting that it should apologize as the allegations, he said, had been deliberately made for political purposes.
