LAHORE – There are thousands of Raymond Davis roaming across the country and the army is killing its own people instead of getting rid of them, Jamaat e Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan said while addressing a grand Tribal Jirga at Mansoora on Sunday, he said the failure of the law enforcement agencies to arrest Raymond Davis’s four accomplices and seize their armed vehicle clearly showed their utter helplessness and incompetence.
The Jirga, attended by around two thousand tribal elders from different areas, demanded immediate end to the military operation in the tribal areas, pulling out of the ‘war on terror’ to pave way for peace in the region and withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas to pave way for dialogue. It condemned the drone attacks resulting in large scale killings of innocent people as violation of the country’s sovereignty and demanded an end to these.
The declaration also called upon the government to take necessary steps for the return of the displaced persons to their homes with honour and provision of the essentials to them in a respectable manner. It called for setting up a judicial commission to assess the damage done by the operation in the tribal areas and for fixing the responsibility, besides a reasonable financial package for the tribal areas, to compensate for their losses.
The Jirga called for hanging Raymond Davis to death for five deaths besides interrogation from him in regard to the intelligence network of Black Water and other US terrorist organizations in this country. Stressing that Raymond Davis not be released at any cost, the Jirga also demanded that serious efforts be made for the release of Dr Aafia Siddiqui.
Munawar Hasan, in his address, said that the ISPR was misleading the nation by creating an impression that all the residents of KP were terrorists and traitors. He said that the tribal people had always served as back bone for the army with regard to national security and sovereignty.
Had the tribal people not been patriotic, they would have begun a separatist movement instead of bearing all the oppression silently, he argued. He exhorted the army chief, Gen Kiyani to take a courageous stand by refusing Washington’s dictation, and announce pulling out of the US war.
He also urged the army chief to tell the world at large that the current wave of terrorism was only because of the US, India, Israel collusion. He said, as a result of the military operations, army’s patriotism was been affected and the people were raising fingers at the army as well. History was a witness to the fact that military operations always increased problems instead of solving them, he said.
Continuing, the JI chief said as long the PPP was in power, Benazir Bhutto’s assassins and Pervez Musharraf will not be apprehended. The present rulers had given a red carpet farewell to the military dictator, so how could they hold his trial, he asked. He said President Zardari was good at nothing except corruption. Addressing the Jirga, the JI Tribal Areas chief, Sahibzada Haronur Rashid, said that if the army could not protect them against the Americans, at least it should not run over their houses with tanks.
The Jirga declaration called for an end to the FCR terming it a colonial era legacy and demanded enforcement of the Shariah in the light of the constitution and the law reforms. It demanded abolishing Political Agent’s unlawful authority and subjecting him to the judiciary. It also demanded construction of basic infrastructure in the tribal areas besides provision of basic needs to facilitate their return.
Addressing the Jirga, Brig. (r) Muhammad Yousuf, said that the continuation of the drone attacks in spite of a Parliament’s resolution was highly condemnable and an open challenge to the country’s independence and sovereignty. He said that the country was at the thresh hold of a revolution and if the rulers did not give up their slavish mentality, the public outrage against them could lead to an eruption any moment.
JI deputy Secretary General Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha, Sahibzada Fasiullaha from Dir, Raj Muhammad Khan from Orakzai agency, Faisal Afridi from Khyber Agency, Dr Samiuualah from South Waziristan, Sardar Khan from Bajaur agency, Dr Munsif Khan from Mahmand Agency and Zar Noor Khan Afridi also addressed the Jirga. They expressed gratitude to the JI for hosting the Jirga to enabling them voice their grievances and supporting their cause.
