A jirga organised by the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam in Peshawar called for negotiations to bring peace to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and economic uplift schemes for the former tribal districts. The jirga also demanded opening up of routes with Afghanistan.

Held in Peshawar’s Nishtar Hall, the jirga was titled ‘Pashtoon Qaumi FATA Mushawrati Jirga’ and had invited tribal elders from former-FATA as well as adjoining southern districts.

The jirga concluded with an 11-point statement calling for negotiations to end terrorism in KP as the use of force had failed to yield any results. The statement also said that the government must stop activities against the people of the tribal districts in the guise of anti-terrorism operations.

It was also demanded that trade and passenger routes with Afghanistan be reopened immediately. The statement said that movement between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be made easier and old trade crossings including Bajaur, North and South Waziristan, Khyber and Kurram should be reopened.

The statement also expressed concern over the lack of basic facilities in the tribal districts and called upon the government to take steps to bring their development on par with the rest of the country.

The jirga also demanded that the government should immediately release funds promised to the people of KP as well as payment of compensation to those who had lost property in the counter-terrorism operations.

The statement also demanded that the resources generated by KP should be spent on the uplift of the Pashtun people and exploitative taxes on agriculture and imports should be repealed.

The jirga also resolved that Maulana Fazal ur Rehman will call an all-parties conference of Pashtun political parties to find a way for peace in the region.

The jirga comes after another peace jirga in Karak that called upon the government to take decisive steps against terrorism. One day after the jirga, the Counter-Terrorism Department conducted an operation, killing five terrorists in the Banda Daud area in Karak.