Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addresses the Khyber Peace Jirga on Sunday. Photo:
KHYBER:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday announced plans to call for a large jirga across the province as he prepares to launch a protest march towards Islamabad over the “forced displacement” of Tirah Valley residents and a federal “u-turn” on the issue.
He also revealed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif invited him to a meeting on provincial rights, where he will present the case of the people of the province “with all their strength and determination”.
According to sources, Afridi would travel to Islamabad on Monday (today) to meet the Prime Minister to “defend KP’s rights and secure our pending dues.”
Addressing a grand peace jirga at the Jamrud sports complex in Khyber, the prime minister said he would soon begin consultations with stakeholders across the province, starting with visits to the merged districts, before setting a date for a march to the federal capital.
The move comes amid a growing standoff between the federal and provincial governments over who authorized the evacuation of Tirah, after hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes fearing planned military action.
While authorities initially maintained that the evacuations were carried out with the consent of all stakeholders, including local elders, the provincial government and the military, the issue has become highly contentious after displaced families were left stranded in frigid conditions under open skies, and alleged mismanagement worsened their plight.
Earlier this week, the federal government insisted that the movement of people from Tirah was part of a routine seasonal migration and denied that any military operation was planned in the valley.
However, Afridi rejected this version, calling the official stance “a joke” and saying that the Center had changed its position only after international media highlighted the “real sufferings of the people of the valley”.
At the jirga, the prime minister asked participants if they would join him on a protest march to Islamabad to express their resentment over what he called the “atrocities” committed against the people of Tirah, their “forced displacement” and the government’s reversal of the military operation.
He announced that a great jirga would be called soon. “We will affirm in the grand jirga that only the people have the right to govern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it belongs to them, and that no decision taken behind closed doors in Islamabad will be acceptable anymore.”
Amid loud chants from the crowd, Afridi said that “no power on earth could shake his confidence nor buy his conscience if he has the solid support and backing of his own people.”
He alleged that conspiracies were being hatched to impose the governor’s rule in the province or disqualify him through “fabricated cases”, adding that efforts were also being made to “eliminate him if he does not submit to the narrative of his political rivals”.
“But I have firm faith in God and am not afraid of anyone as I am a tribal member and will never abandon our stated policy on militancy and military operations,” he said.
Responding to allegations of misuse of Rs 4 billion allocated to displaced Tirah families, the prime minister said he would not hesitate to sanction even Rs 100 billion if necessary, alleging that the federal government had “broken its promises to provide a paltry amount of Rs 400,000” to victims of previous military operations.
He promised “exemplary punishment” for anyone found guilty of irregularities in the use of aid funds.
Afridi also accused the federal government of discrimination against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, saying, “We are considered second-class citizens. But I will continue to raise my voice against this injustice as I, as a soldier of Imran Khan, know how to ensure our rights.”
The prime minister warned that the federal government’s handling of Tirah would lead to “people losing their confidence in the security system.”
“We have been crying out for a long time against the presence of illegal militant groups in different parts of KP, particularly in Tirah, and reminding the federal government that militant activities have increased. But no one took our claims seriously as the situation gradually got out of everyone’s hands,” he said.
He further stated that the people of the tribal areas had always made sacrifices for the country and would “dispel negative propaganda against them”.
On the same occasion, Afridi announced the establishment of a provincial relief fund for the poor and needy, urging wealthy citizens to contribute so that assistance could be distributed during Ramadan.
He also condemned the terrorist attacks carried out in different parts of Balochistan on Saturday and expressed solidarity with the affected families, saying that the people of KP share their grief and pain.
Earlier, Provincial Minister Meena Khan, MNA Iqbal Afridi and MPAs Abdul Ghani and Adnan Qadri also addressed the meeting and held the federal government responsible for the difficulties faced by the displaced families of Tirah.
Noteworthy is the absence of members of the Tirah tribal jirga who had previously negotiated the evacuation of families with provincial and security officials.
Meanwhile, tribal elders of a tribal jirga on the Tirah issue have announced full solidarity, sympathy and full support to all the affected families who have been temporarily displaced.
The jirga organized by the Bara Political Alliance and the agenda of the national jirga were presented by the former president of the Bara Political Alliance, Haji Shireen Afridi.
The Jirga participants raised their voices in favor of peace. Jirga leaders said the problems of Tirah victims are not limited to a single region or tribe, but is a collective national problem.
They said any further delay in resolving the problems of Tirah’s displaced people is unacceptable.
