Fazl threatens march on Islamabad if tribal issues not resolved

PESHAWAR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has threatened to march on the federal capital if the long-standing issues of the tribal districts are not resolved. Addressing a grand tribal jirga (Pakhtun Qaumi Jirga) here on Monday, the JUIF head said that they were loyal to the country and its Constitution, but would not accept any “forced” decisions about the tribal regions.

The Maulana said that if the grievances of the people of the tribal districts were not resolved, his party would stage a long march towards Islamabad. “If we can arrange a long march for religious seminaries, we can organize a similar protest for the rights of the tribal people as well. History will judge those in power as occupiers and oppressors,” he declared.

Organised by the JUIF, the jirga was attended by elders from all the tribal districts. Prominent among them were former governor, Engineer Shaukatullah Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed, Pakistan People’s Party leader, Akhunzada Chattan, Senator Engineer Rasheed Ahmad, Senator Saleh Muhammad, Senator Maulana Abdul Rasheed, former MNA Maulana Jamaluddin, MNA Maulana Misbahuddin and others.

The Maulana said that the Pakhtuns were proud and honourable people. “The elders have convened this jirga as a favour and we hold such gatherings in high esteem”, he added. He reiterated his commitment to tribal affairs, saying that he had consistently participated in tribal jirgas, including those held at the time of what he called the controversial merger of the tribal districts with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a few years ago.

The Maulana made it clear that the JUIF did not oppose the merger outright but wanted the decision to be taken with the consent of the people of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

“The tribal people wanted to decide their fate—some supported the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) system, others wanted a separate province, while some favoured merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The previous jirgas had called for a referendum on the matter,” he explained.

Highlighting the promises made to the tribal people at the time of the merger, the Maulana said that peace was the foremost commitment made to them. “Peace ensures dignity, human rights and employment. However, today, the tribal districts and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remain deprived of peace,” he lamented.

The JUIF chief said Islam was a religion of peace and his party wanted a peaceful resolution to all conflicts. He demanded the implementation of an Islamic system in the country and said that the Constitution had already mandated an Islamic framework and prohibited any law contrary to Islam.

The Maulana came down hard on the government and certain “powerful institutions” and accused them of disregarding the Constitution. “When we talk about the supremacy of the Constitution and the law, we are accused of wanting to break the country. The Constitution is a sacred pact, but it is treated as a mere piece of paper,” he said.

He went on to criticize the successive governments for what he referred to as more loyal to the US than to their own people. “The US waged a war in Afghanistan and instead of siding with their Muslim brothers, our rulers preferred to become frontline allies of the US. They even branded their own people as enemies only to appease the US,” he remarked.

Other speakers on the occasion demanded the government to fulfill the promises made to the tribal people at the time of the merger. They said that they wanted peace in the tribal districts.

They said that the rights of the tribal districts must be granted without any conditions. The speakers warned those at the helm of affairs to refrain from pushing them to the wall. They said the tribal people were peaceful, but it should not be taken as their weakness. They reposed trust in the leadership of Maulana Fazlur Rahman and assured that they would continue the struggle for their rights unitedly under him.

The jirga also passed a unanimous declaration wherein the government was asked to take urgent and concrete steps for the restoration of peace in the tribal and other districts of the province.

The forum expressed concern over the worsening law and order situation in the southern districts of the province. The jirga opposed military operations in parts of the province and observed that the use of force had already proved to be a futile exercise. Therefore, meaningful dialogue should be launched to overcome the situation. It was decided that soon an All Parties Conference of the Pakhtun leadership would be convened to work out a future line of action.

The jirga stressed the need for early and effective implementation of the 14-point pact reached in Kohat recently to overcome the conflict in the Kurram tribal district. The gathering demanded that all the missing persons should be produced in a court of law so that justice could take its course and all the innocent people could be released.