Orakzai jirga vows to stay put in face of rising unrest

KALAYA: Elders at a jirga representing 18 tribes of Orakzai district on Tuesday vowed that the residents would not abandon their homes despite a surge in violence across the tribal district.

The jirga was held at the district headquarters which was attended bytribal elders and lawmakers, including Member National Assembly (MNA) Yousaf Khan, Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Aurangzeb Khan Orakzai, Malik Qasim Gul, Malik Shakeel, Malik Mumtaz; Hafiz Abdul Hadi and others.

Speakers urged the government to take immediate steps to restore and sustain peace, including the deployment of Frontier Corps (FC) alongside police at all checkpoints in the tribal district. They said the tribes were ready to support government-led peace initiatives but insisted the burden of ensuring law and order ultimately rested with state institutions.

MNA Yousaf Khan told the gathering that the region had endured cycles of unrest for years, yet a durable solution remained elusive. He questioned why the state had not been able to eliminate the elements fueling violence.

Referring to the government’s recently launched “Uraan Pakistan” programme, the lawmaker contrasted national development ambitions with the reality that communities in the tribal belt were still “begging for peace.” He urged authorities to assert residents’ constitutional rights and to act decisively for security “without asking anyone’s permission.”

MPA Aurangzeb Khan Orakzai said the jirga’s message was not anti-government or anti-state; rather, it was a plea for immediate measures against what he called a new wave of militancy sweeping ex-FATA and the southern districts. He called for additional security forces to be stationed along the border to block militant movement into the area.

Recalling the mass displacements that began around 2008, the lawmaker said Orakzai’s people “cannot and will not” endure another exodus. Should the security situation worsen further, he warned, tribal fighters would feel compelled to organise for the defence of their own localities.

In a unanimous declaration, the jirga appealed to the federal government, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister, the army chief and all relevant law-enforcement agencies to immediately reinforce each security checkpoint in Orakzai with substantial Frontier Corps (FC) presence alongside police personnel.

It asked the government to announce a clear policy for eradicating militancy in the district and wider tribal belt.The resolution demanded the authorities to take actions to safeguard the lives of the citizens.