Bajaur jirga decision repugnant to Constitution: adviser

PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information Kamran Bangash said on Saturday that a decision taken by a jirga in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur district was repugnant to the Constitution and it violated the basic human rights.

He said that the provincial government had expressed reservation over the decision and directed the commissioner and deputy commissioner Bajaur district to hold dialogue with the jirga member to withdraw the decision.

The adviser added that after the 25th constitutional amendment, there was no provision in the law to take such a decision.

Bangash said that action would be taken as per law if the talks with jirga remained inconclusive. He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government believed in giving equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their gender.

Kamran Bangash said that the provincial government respected the tribal traditions and the jirga culture and that was the reason the alternate dispute resolution system was introduced in merged districts.

The jirga has banned women from making telephone calls to radio stations (FM) and visiting centres offering stipends to the babies.