KHYBER: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced on Sunday that he would soon convene a grand jirga for consultations with stakeholders across the province for a protest march on Islamabad.
The CM shared his plans at a jirga at Khyber’s Jamrud Sports Complex, which he had announced last Sunday while responding to the federal government’s stance that neither the Centre, nor the military, had issued any directives for the “depopulation” of the Tirah Valley.
The federal and provincial governments have been trading barbs over who authorised the evacuation process in the valley after hundreds of Tirah residents vacated their homes amid concerns about a planned military actions.
The evacuations, which were carried out in line with a plan agreed upon by all stakeholders — including local elders, the provincial government and the military — seem to have become a bone of contention after the displaced populace found themselves stranded in cold weather under open skies, with mismanagement by the authorities only adding to their troubles.
Earlier this week, the federal government also insisted that the movement was actually seasonal migration and a routine practice, further maintaining that no military action had been planned for Tirah.
At the peace jirga today, the KP CM asked those attending the gathering if they would accompany him for a protest march towards Islamabad to express their resentment against the “atrocities” which the people of Tirah had been subjected to, their “forced displacement” and the “government’s U-turn on the military operation”.
The CM said he would soon undertake a visit to merged districts to take their residents into confidence and would then convene a grand jirga prior to announcing a date for a protest march towards the federal capital.
“We will assert at the grand jirga that only people are entitled to rule Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it belongs to them, and that no decisions made behind closed doors in Islamabad will be acceptable any more”, he said among vociferous sloganeering from the emotionally charged audience.
Afridi said that “no power on the earth could shake his confidence nor could his conscience be bought if he has the solid support and backing of his own people”.
He alleged that conspiracies were hatched so that either governor’s rule could be enforced in the province or he was disqualified and sent packing on the basis of “concocted cases”. He claimed conspiracies were also planned to “eliminate him he if does not submit to the narrative of his political rivals”.
But, “I have firm faith in God and I am not scared of anyone as I am a tribal and will never budge from our stated policy about militancy and military operations”, he asserted.
On the allegations of the misuse of Rs4 billion pledged by his government for the displaced families of Tirah, he said he would not hesitate to sanction even Rs100bn if the need arose as the federal government had “reneged on its promises of providing a paltry amount of Rs400,000 to the displaced families affected by previous military operations”.
The CM vowed that “exemplary punishment” would be given to those who were found guilty of any irregularity in the utilisation of funds allocated for the displaced families of Tirah.
He alleged discrimination against the people of KP, claiming: “We are considered as second class citizens. But I will continue to raise my voice against this injustice as I, being a soldier of Imran Khan, know how to secure our rights.”
He further stated that he would travel to Islamabad on Monday to meet the prime minister to “plead the case of KP’s rights and secure our outstanding dues”.
Afridi then termed the federal government’s stance on the displacement of Tirah people “a joke” and insisted that the “people of tribal areas have always rendered sacrifices for the country and they will dispel the negative propaganda against them”.
The CM said the federal government “changed its stance on Tirah” on after the international media reported about the “actual sufferings of the people of the valley”.
“We have been clamouring for a long time against the presence of outlawed militant groups in different parts of KP, particularly Tirah, and reminding the federal government that militant activities have increased. But, nobody took our assertions seriously while the situation gradually went out of everybody’s hands”, he said.
He warned that the federal government’s statement about Tirah would lead to “people losing their confidence in the security establishment”.
On the occasion, he also announced the establishment of a relief fund for the poor and needy in KP and appealed to the wealthy to contribute to it. The contributions would later be distributed among the needy people in Ramazan, he announced.
He also condemned the terror attacks carried out in different parts of Balochistan on Saturday and expressed his solidarity with the people of the province while saying that the people of KP shared the grief and agony of the affected families.
Earlier, provincial minister Meena Khan, MNA Iqbal Afridi, MPAs Abdul Ghani and Adnan Qadri Aldo made hard hitting speeches and held the federal government responsible for all the hardships faced by the displaced families of Tirah.
Conspicuous by their absence were the members of the jirga of Tirah tribes who had negotiated the evacuation of families from the valley with representatives of the provincial government and security officials.
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