SWAT(National Times)- Swat Loya Jirga has rejected any new military operation in the region and demanded elimination of all militants in Malakand division within one month.
The jirga comprising representatives of all major political parties, trader organisations, lawyers and civil society was held in Mingora on Thursday. The participants of the jirga unanimously rejected any fresh military operation in Swat and called upon the government to take practical steps to establish lasting peace in Malakand division.
They said that if the government failed to eliminate militants and ensure lasting peace within one month, a protest movement would be launched, followed by a long march towards Islamabad.
Speakers said that Swat and Malakand division had remained embroiled in terrorism, military operations, natural disasters and floods since 2007, inflicting severe damage on the local economy. They said tourism had also been badly affected. They said that people could neither afford another military operation and renewed unrest nor bear the burden of additional taxes.
They urged government to take immediate and effective measures to restore peace and revive the region’s economy.
The jirga appreciated the provincial government’s decision to withdraw the imposition of KPRA and other provincial taxes and demanded of federal government to withdraw its decision to impose taxes in Malakand division and merged districts. They called for restoration of the separate status of Malakand division.
In a declaration issued after the jirga, Grand Jirga President and former Matta tehsil nazim Abdul Jabbar Khan said that people of Swat and Malakand division wanted permanent and sustainable peace.
He demanded restoration of the separate status of Malakand division and withdrawal of all decisions regarding the imposition of taxes.
The declaration urged relevant institutions to ensure that all militants were driven out of Swat and Malakand division within one month.
It warned that if the demands were not accepted, the people of Swat would unite and hold a massive public gathering. If the security situation was not brought under control and the decisions regarding taxes were not withdrawn, elders of Swat, political and non-political organisations and civil society would block major highways and stage an indefinite sit-in, it added.
The declaration stated that if the government failed to accept the demands despite sit-ins, the jirga would announce a long march towards Islamabad.
The jirga was addressed by MPA Fazal Hakim Khan, MNA Dr Amjad Ali Khan, former MNA Dr Haider Ali Khan, Awami National Party district president Sher Shah Khan, Zahir Shah Rorjan, Pakistan People’s Party divisional president Malik Akram Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami leaders Akhtar Ali Khanji and Mohammad Amin, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s Ejaz Khan, Pakhtunkhwa National Party’s Umar Ali Khan Yousafzai, Saleem Khan, Fazal Ahmad Lala Ji, Malakand Division Traders Federation president Abdul Rahim, Swat Qaumi Jirga spokesperson Ahmad Shah, Irfan Khan Chattan, PML-N divisional president Wajid Ali Khan, district president Advocate Qavi Khan, former district nazim Jamal Nasir Khan and former district nazim Mohammad Ali Shah.
They said that people of Swat and Malakand division had paid a heavy price during the past two decades because of terrorism and unrest.
They said that time had come for the state to take effective and practical measures to protect people, ensure lasting peace and facilitate economic recovery in the region.
