Opposing the proposed military operation in North Waziristan, a combined jirga of tribal elders and religious clerics from the tribal agency threatened migration to Afghanistan in case the government attacked their area.
The jirga was held on Saturday in the Eidak area of Mirali, the second biggest town of North Waziristan Agency. It was attended by the elders of Uthman Wazir and Dawar tribes settled all over the agency.
During the meeting, several elders and clerics spoke at length against the US demand for a military operation in the tribal agency. Some of them even contradicted media reports and claims on the presence of foreign militants, particularly the Haqqani network, in the area.
The jirga members also passed a resolution, urging the government to drop the idea of conducting a military operation in North Waziristan. They threatened to resist any such much, adding that they would migrate to Afghanistan and join hands with the Afghan government.
The jirga members also said that the tribesmen and the “mujahideen” (militants) were abiding the peace agreements made with the government in September 2006 and onwards. However, they accused the government and security forces of violating such agreements. The jirga said that certain elements were creating rifts and misunderstanding between the local tribesmen and the government at the behest of “someone else”. However, the jirga members stopped short of explaining who such elements were.
The jirga also called on the tribesmen across the agency to remain united against aggression, and oust all foreigners and strangers from their areas. The jirga also urged the tribesmen to extend all possible support to the administration for maintaining law and order. It may be mentioned that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) headed by Hakimullah Mehsud has already opposed military action in North Waziristan, and threatened to “welcome the armed forces with suicide bombers”. However, the militants headed by Hafiz Gul Bahadur are still silent. Several religious figures associated with Hafiz Gul Bahadar attended Saturday’s jirga.
Maulvi Gul Ramzan, Sadar Abdul Rehman, and Peace Committee Chief Malik Jaan Faraz also attended the jirga. The former two are considered influential religious figures, and associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam of Fazlur Rehman.