Kurram jirga agrees on all major points, claims KP govt spokesperson

PESHAWAR: Adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif has said that warring tribes have reached a consensus on all major points in the ongoing peace jirga in Kurram. 

The jirga would convene on Tuesday after the forum, via mutual consultation, decided to grant two days' time to one of the parties who asked for more time for further discuss with its leaders on few points, said Barrister Saif on Sunday.

The development comes as major breakthrough, as reported by The News, was claimed on Saturday in the ongoing peace negotiations with one of the tribes signing the agreement.

"All demands and proposals put forward have been accepted, and the Turi Bangash tribe has signed the agreement," said Jalal Hussain Bangash, secretary of the Anjuman-e-Hussainia Association.

The progress in peace talks, underway at the Kohat Fort for two months under the supervision of GOC 9 Division Major General Zulfiqar Bhatti, aim to broker lasting peace between the warring tribes whose clashes have resulted in more than 130 fatalities since November.

The issue remains unresolved despite multiple truces announced during the past one year as elders from both sides strive to negotiate a lasting peace agreement.

The recent clashes have sparked a humanitarian crisis, with medicine and oxygen supplies running low, exacerbated by the closure of the main highway connecting Parachinar to Peshawar.

Reports indicate that over 100 children are feared dead due to a severe medicine shortage, though KP government spokesperson Barrister Saif has denied these claims.

Apart from the ongoing sit-in at the Parachinar Press Club, road closures in the district have also triggered protests in Karachi, which have now entered their sixth day today.

However, Bangash said that road supplies and other essential services would be restored soon as part of the agreement.

The district has been declared "disaster-hit" by the provincial government with authorities airlifting medical supplies to the area and evacuating people in critical need.

Underscoring that a consensus has been reached on all major points, Barrister Saif has said that the agreement would be signed once the consultation process has been culminated.

Bunkers would be abolished and the area would be de-weaponized as per the Apex Committee's decision, the KP government spokesperson noted while reaffirming the government's resolve to achieve a permanent and sustainable solution to the conflict dating back more than a century.

"The conflict is close to being resolved due to the efforts of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and the grand jirga," he remarked.