Saturday, May 3, 2008

Jafaria Alliance of Pakistan (JAP) for UN enquiry into Kurram Agency turmoil

Jafaria Alliance of Pakistan (JAP) for UN enquiry into Kurram Agency turmoil F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Jafaria Alliance of Pakistan (JAP) Friday urged the government to conduct an inquiry under United Nations into the violent incidents in Kurram Agency in which hundreds of people have been killed and wounded so far. More than 500 people have been killed and hundreds others injured in the Kurram Agency so far after clashes erupted between rival tribesmen last year whereas hundred of people were displaced from the troubled area. Speaking at news conference at the cafeteria of Parliament House here, Senator Abbas Komail, President JAP also appealed the government to open Kohat-Parachinar road and ensure reasonable food supply on immediate basis along with foolproof protection to the passengers traveling from restive Parachinar to other parts of the country. He also warned that the JAP would give call to block the Karakuram Highway as protest if government failed to maintain law and order situation in Kurram Agency and did not fulfilled the demands. He held foreign elements settled in the Agency responsible for the ongoing violence and urged the government to take strict actions against them as well as eliminate them from the peaceful area. He demanded that Parachinar should be declared calamity-hit area and a relief package be given to the affectees of the violence. “Due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the Agency, the residents are seriously facing shortage of food items like atta, ghee, sugar, rice, pulses and medicine, fuel and other necessities” he added. Komaili urged that flights of PIA from Peshawar to Parachinar should be re-launched on emergency basis facilitate the stuck up passengers. For the restoration of peace, he said Kurram Malitia (Frontier Corps) should be re-deployed in the Agency and the Turi and Bangash tribes be rehabilitated in their native village Sadda and protection be given to them in future. He accused foreign hands of fueling the violence in this sensitive bordering tribal area with Afghanistan, who want to destabilize the country and its foundations. He also criticized the former Governor NWFP Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai and political administration and alleged that their partial attitude had further fueled the violence instead of normalizing the situations. He hoped that the present Governor NWFP Awais Ghani would look into the entire situation with impartial way to restore peace in Kurram Agency. Komaili also thanked the PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Advisor to Prime Minister Rehman Malik for playing positive role in restoring peace of the area. He soon after the formation of the government, efforts were made to stop the clashes. He urged that the issues be resolved through impartial Jirga in which elected representatives of the people be included.

The Frontier Post,
Saturday, May 3, 2008,
Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429 A.H.