Jirga reaches Sadda for peace talks

PARACHINAR/KOHAT: A peace jirga comprising 125 members from tribal districts and various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which arrived in the Kurram district a day earlier, reached Sadda on Wednesday. The jirga aims to restore peace in the conflict-ridden region.

According to a jirga member Umar Farooq, the elders had reached Kurram last evening but were unable to proceed to Parachinar.

The jirga spent the night at the residence of former Member National Assembly Munir Orakzai. Another attempt was made to reach Sadda and Parachinar Wednesday morning but the Bagan tribe members reportedly barred their passage. The jirga took an alternative route to reach Sadda, where they met local elders and were now planning to continue to Parachinar for further discussions.

Umar Farooq told the media, “We are here as representatives of the Pashtun nation from all tribal districts and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Our mission is to engage with elders of both sides and to bring peace to the region.”

Kohat Division Commissioner Syed Motasim Billah Shah announced the decision at a joint consultation meeting of Grand Jirga and members of the Kohat Division Peace Committee in Hangu district. The official arranged the consultative meeting with the members of both bodies in the light of directives of the chief minister along with deputy commissioners and district police officers of Hangu and Orakzai districts.

The participants of the meeting took some decisions unanimously to ensure peace and order in the entire Kohat Region. It was decided that there would not be any protest on Thal-Kohat Road in the future and in case of violation, the police would take strict action against the violators. Similarly, no public meeting or procession would be allowed in Hangu, Kohat and Orakzai on the issue of Kurram.

The Kohat commissioner said he was in contact with both the sects in Kurram and the Grand Jirga to ensure there were no ceasefire violations. He said the two sides of Kurram and the Grand Jirga would soon agree to a reasonable ceasefire and find a permanent solution to the problem through mutual understanding.

Syed Motasim Billah Shah said neither side wanted unrest but some non-state actors were trying to achieve their nefarious goals by creating misunderstandings among them. “Now people are well aware of these negative intentions and they will not fall for their dirty tricks,” he stressed.

It should be mentioned here that the arrangements for holding Wednesday’s jirga were made by the deputy commissioner and DPO of Hangu.

Meanwhile, two consignments of essential medicines, including life-saving drugs, were airlifted to Kurram on the KP government’s helicopter on Wednesday. An official handout said the medicines were worth Rs6.3 million.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had taken notice of the shortage of medicines in Kurram district due to the closure of roads since November 21 when scores of people were killed during an attack on a convoy of passenger vehicles. He had directed the quarters concerned to ensure the supply of essential medicines to Kurram through the provincial government’s helicopter. The chief minister had allocated his helicopter for the supply of medicines to Kurram until road access was completely restored.

The official statement said in compliance with the chief minister’s directives, the adviser for health and the secretary health were monitoring the distribution of medicines in Kurram.

The chief minister emphasized that the availability of essential medicines must be ensured at all times in the district. He instructed that air deliveries should continue until ground connectivity was fully re-established.