The Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights said on Saturday it would write a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari asking him to address the problems being faced by the residents of Kurram Agency and Parachinar, and take measures to bring peace to the area.
“The president is responsible for governance in the tribal region and the committee will write a letter regarding resolution of the problems being faced by residents of Kurram Agency and Parachinar,” Senator Afrasiab Khattak, chairman of the committee, said in response to complaints of human rights violations in the area.
The committee was briefed in detail by a delegation of the youth from Parachinar about gross human rights violations in the area by militants. They said that the 5 million people of the area were facing an acute shortage of food and medicine as all the roads were closed.
The committee was told that the writ of the government in Kurram Agency was so weak that militants were independently conducting atrocities against local civilians. State and Frontier Regions Secretary Habibullah Khattak agreed to the delegation’s point of view and said that many foreigners and terrorists had destroyed peace in the areas in question, and it was the duty of the government to establish its writ there.
He said that Defence Ministry should be asked to reopen Kurram Agnecy Airport and restore commercial flights to the area. Responding to a question, Kurram Agency Political Agent Syed Musadiq Shah admitted the presence of Taliban and other hard-line elements in the lower and central Kurram Agency.
Implementation Commission Chairman Raza Rabbani assured the Parachinar delegates that their problems would be resolved. He also asked the committee to call the interior minister to the next meeting.
Rabbani maintained that the locals’ demand that Kurram militia be deployed to restore peace to the agency should be fulfilled if it would help bring peace to the area. He also urged the government as well as all factions to implement the Murree Accords in letter and spirit.
Meanwhile, the committee summoned Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials in connection with the Omer Cheema abduction and torture case investigations. The inspector general of police later gave a detailed briefing to committee members on the abduction and torture of journalist Cheema.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Human Rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, Federally Administered Tribal Areas additional chief secretary and other members of the body participated in the session of the Senate committee.
