The chief minister insisted that the Tirah displacement was neither voluntary nor justified, denouncing it as a forced, orchestrated move the provincial government could never endorse
By Sudhir Ahmad Afridi
KHYBER: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Soheil Afridi announced three major decisions regarding the situation in Tirah valley while addressing the Khyber Peace Jirga at Jamrud Sports Ground, where thousands of participants endorsed his statements by a show of hands.
The chief minister said the displacement of people from Tirah was not voluntary but carried out under a forced and organized plan, which the provincial government did not accept under any circumstances. He said the government stood shoulder to shoulder with the affected families and would use all available resources for their rehabilitation, relief and protection, even if spending exceeded Rs4bn and reached up to Rs100bn.
Afridi announced that separate jirgas would be held in all tribal districts, including Khyber and Tirah, to safeguard the constitutional and fundamental rights of tribal people. He said a grand jirga would then be convened at the provincial level, after which a date would be announced to go to Islamabad to demand tribal rights in a peaceful but firm manner.
He said Rs4bn had been released on an emergency basis for Tirah affectees and that the amount could be increased to Rs100bn if required. He also appealed to overseas Pakhtuns and Pakistanis at home and abroad to contribute to the provincial CM Relief Fund, for which a dedicated account would be established.
Afridi told the jirga that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had summoned him for a meeting on Monday, where he would present the case of the tribal people with full force. The jirga unanimously decided that the people of Tirah had been forcibly displaced and that all concerns must be addressed before their return.
Provincial minister Mian Khan Afridi, MPA and Dedak chairman Khyber Abdul Ghani Afridi, MNA Iqbal Afridi, MPA Allama Adnan Qadri and other leaders also addressed the jirga and expressed full solidarity with the people of Tirah.
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