Tuesday, April 29, 2008

ANP, PPP activists call off hunger strike in Kurram

PARACHINAR: Local leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) called off hunger strike in Kurram Agency here Monday.The leaders of both parties went on a hunger strike on Sunday to protest against the government’s failure to curb sectarian violence during the last several months, which caused closure of the main road leading to Parachinar.Later, the central leaders of PPP and ANP and some tribal elders assured the strikers of restoring peace and opening of roads, and the strike was postponed for a week. Addressing a press conference, PPP’s Hamid Hussain and ANP’s Qurban Ali said certain elements fanned militancy and sectarian strife in the area to defame the PPP-led government in the Center and that of ANP’s in the Frontier. To counter the conspiracies, they decided to stage protests over the issue, they said, adding if order were not restored, they would again go on strike.On the occasion, both the political leaders appealed to PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Pervez Musharraf to take measures for restoration of peace in the agency.

The NEWS International
4/29/2008

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Tension erupted in troubled Kurram Agency once again F.P. Report

PARACHIINAR: Tension erupted in already troubled Kurram Agency (FATA) today once again when militants set on fire a town of Turi tribe consisting of more than thirty houses along with Masjid & Imam Bargah located near village Pewar on Pak-Afghan border. According to details this occurred on Saturday when militants violated the peace treaty and seize fire once again by setting on fire a town named Gubazana near village Pewar located on Pak-Afghan Border. The militants used petrol and other explosive for destroying the whole Town consisting of more than thirty houses ,while the security Forces personals were watching this game of fire as silent spectators, some eyewitness present there said to reporters on condition of not exposing their names. It is worth mentioning here that the owner population of this town of Gubazana belongs to Turi tribe in Upper Kurram and Sada in Lower Kurram have already migrated to safer places in the era of Zia’s regime. After this the already tense situation in troubled Kurram Valley once again is going to worse but the local administrations especially Political Agent (PA) is doing no measures to control the situation, seems to be puppet in the hands of militants. Meanwhile the elders of Turi tribe call their people to be peaceful and calm and demaded the government and administration to take action against militants in 72 hours. The elders of Turi tribes accused some officals of Bureaucracy and security forces that they are backing militants. According to elders of Turi tribe the proof of which is that militants broke the peace agreement for more than dozen time by violating the cease fire, but instead of taking action against these militants they are given state sponsorship. They further said that a “hidden hand “want to convert the Paradise like Kurram Agency into another Waziristan but the patriotic Turi tribe will not allow them to do so. Meanwhile, thousands of South Waziristanis are on the verge of fleeing thier homes in a famine like situation, due to acute shortage of food items in most parts of the volatile tribal agency bordering Afghanistan, the inhabitants of the area told The Frontier Post here on Friday. All most every kind of food item is short and in most parts of thje agency wheat and rice are not available for the last few days, due to which they are in a famine like situation and every one is packing up their movable belongings to leave their homes this time not due to military operation but due to hunger . Talking to The Frontier Post, one of the famine affected middle man , who named himself Khan Sarwar said, “ me and my children are eating boiled rice of a very low grade and quality at a very high price and the food stock in everyone home is on the verge of finishing point.

(The Frontier Post ), Sunday, April 27, 2008, Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1429 A.H.

Road opens for traffic F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: Thal-Parachinar road was opened for traffic on Tuesday. According to a statement issued by ISPR, Thal-Parachinar road in Parachinar has been opened for vehicular traffic, private TV channel (Geo) reported. Pakistan Army organized a free medical camp in Shin and Kotenai villages of Shangla in which 167 patients including women and children were treated, the statement added.

(The Frontier Post) , Saturday, April 26, 2008, Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1429 A.H.
Two students perish in Kurram

PARACHINAR (APP): Two students were killed when unknown miscreants started indiscriminate firing at them here at Alizai area in Lower Kurram on Friday. Eyewitnesses said the fugitives ambushed the students when they were returning home after attempting paper of SSC exams in Alizai high School, Lower Kurram Agency. As a result, Tajamul Hussain son of Ghulam Nabi resident of village Balyamin and Asad Hussain son of Nisar Hussain resident of village Thangi died. However, local sources said that one of the student was slaughtered by the militants soon after being kidnapped.

(The Frontier Post )Thursday, April 24, 2008, Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1429 A.H.
Journalists urged to defuse tension in Fata
By Nisar Mahmood
4/21/2008
PESHAWAR: Tribal journalists should work for maintenance of peace and defusing conflicts in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) besides focusing on development activities, social, cultural and political issues.

This was the crux of the third training workshop for tribal journalists on ‘Conflict Reporting’ that concluded at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC), University of Peshawar, here Sunday.

Journalists from Kurram and Orakzai agencies and Tall tehsil of the Hangu district attended the workshop. The invitees from Parachinar could not turn due to closure of Tall-Parachinar Road. It was the third workshop of the series of five, planned by the JMC for the tribal journalists. The newsmen were imparted training in conflict reporting, report writing, journalistic ethics and proper use of journalistic terminologies.

Dean of Faculty of Management and Information Sciences and Chairman JMC Dr Shahjehan Sayed in his lecture urged the tribal journalists to work for maintaining peace and defusing conflicts in their areas while reporting on the events. He hoped the workshop would go a long way towards achieving its stated purpose of training journalists to professionally report on sensitive events in tribal areas.

The JMC chief reiterated the pledge to organise more training workshops of the nature for the tribal journalists and district correspondents of NWFP in future. He exhorted the tribal journalists to focus on development activities, social and cultural values, political issues and people’s problems while carrying out reporting.

Assistant Professor Dr Altafullah delivered lecture on ‘Ethics in Journalism’, Assistant Professor Naeem Gul on ‘Conflict Reporting’ (theory), Lecturer Inam-ur-Rehman on ‘Conflict Reporting’ (practical), Faizullah Jan on ‘Media Framing Conflict’ and Gul Wahab on ‘Conflict Management through Reporting’. The participants were also given practical training in story writing.

The JMC trainers urged journalists to play a positive role in defusing conflicts in the Fata while reporting on events. “Tribal journalists should make reporting balanced and factual to show to the readers the actual situation in the areas,” they said.

Sharing their experiences, journalists said they were facing difficulties and hardships while discharging duties in the restive areas. “We are pressurised by our tribal chieftains, political administration and militants when we do not report news according to their wishes,” they complained.

The participants said journalists working in the tribal areas lacked the basic professional skills, and therefore could not cover events in professional manners. They said only extensive training workshops would end the lacking. JMC is still to organise two similar workshops for journalists from north and South Waziristan agencies in the near future.

(The NEWS ) 21/04/2008