Khyber Jirga asks Pak army & militants to leave Pakhtun land in 60 days – final declaration

Khyber Jirga asked the Pakistan army and militants to leave Pashtun-inhabited areas within two months, warning to chalk out the next line of action if either of the sides did not heed its call.

According to the media reports, the Khyber Jirga – organized by the newly-banned Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement – was also attended by representatives of several political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur attended the concluding ceremony where the charter of demands was presented.

The main focus of the jirga’s closing ceremony was the demand for the military and militants to evacuate, ostensibly from tribal communities. It did not, however, go into detail about who would provide security guarantees if the army withdrew to its barracks or if militants would also comply with their demand.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has not yet complied with the demands. In response to a journalist’s query, CM Ali Amin Gandapur made an effort to avoid giving in to the demand, stating that the military was called by the province administration to assist in restoring the state’s authority and that it was not there of its own free will. He was alluding to the Act in Aid of Civil Power, which gives the provincial administration the authority to call in the armed forces.

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The leader of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, Manzoor Pashteen, stated while announcing the final declaration of the jirga before midnight on Sunday that an unarmed tribal Lashkar, made up of 3,000 volunteers from each Pashtun district, would be established to maintain the region’s security and assist in resolving tribal conflicts.

Thousands of supporters watched him read his final declaration, in which he demanded that the federal government reinstate mutual trading between Afghanistan via the border and grant Pashtuns the same visa-free travel between the two neighboring countries as had been agreed upon since the British India era. He urged Pashtuns to quit providing any extortion money. He said that residents of tribal districts should be provided with free and uninterrupted electricity while the rest of the Pashtuns should be charged Rs5 for one unit of power.

In addition to demanding full control over natural resources, he gathered comprehensive information on the many mineral riches found on Pashtun land and sought his fair part of the royalty on electricity. He declared that the cases of the Pashtun martyrs and the unlawful occupation of their private or family properties would be contested by a group of attorneys. He claimed that by the final declaration, district-level peace committees would be established to resolve inter-Pashtun tribe problems locally.

In addition, Manzoor Pashteen issued a threat, saying that if all of the identity cards of the alleged Pashtun suspects were not restored, the Pashtun people as a whole would return them. The jirga declaration demanded that the Action in Aid to Civil Powers regulation in tribal districts be immediately repealed and that all remaining displaced families be immediately returned to their respective places. Pashteen declared that if any government institution took any action against the PTM organization, which is outlawed, its volunteers, supporters, and well-wishers, the jirga would react appropriately.

In their unanimous proclamation, the Khyber Jirga delegates called for the establishment of a judicial committee to look into the deaths of all Pashtuns who perished in military operations and militancy over the past 20 years.