Fata people demands to be conveyed to COAS: Imran

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Sunday vowed to convey the demands of Fata people to the Army Chief and trace in Islamabad along with protesting Mehsud tribesmen former senior police officer Rao Anwar, allegedly involved in the extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud from South Waziristan in Karachi.

Speaking to the protesting Pakhtuns here, whom Imran visited to express his solidarity, the PTI chief said that Rao Anwar had not only killed Naqeebullah but also others too. “I shall trace him with you, as he is told to be hiding here,” Imran said.

Imran said that many other citizens were murdered in Karachi in the same way Naqeebullah was killed and he also knew several of them. Pakhtuns, mostly belonging to Mehsud tribe, have staged sit-in outside the National Press Club to press for justice to the bereaved family of the slain youth.

Imran said while referring to the demands spelt out by the protesters said the demands are justified. “You (protesters) are not alone; the entire country is with you," Imran said. He said he was well aware of how police had unleashed cruelty in Karachi and also received bribes. He claimed to be fully aware of the history and plight of tribesmen, particularly following the sending of the Pakistani forces to Waziristan and recalled how he had strongly opposed this and also raised his voice against Pakistan’s decision of joining the US-led war against terrorism. He said he was tagged as Taliban Khan for going against the American war.

Imran slammed former president Pervez Musharraf for deployment of the Army personnel in the tribal areas and believed, he would have not done so had he studied the history of tribal areas.

The PTI chairman yet again insisted that Pakistan should not have become part of the US-led war and claimed to have opposed it from 2003 to this day. He termed joining the American a crime. “On one side, there was Pakistan Army, while on the other, the militants, and the tribesmen were sandwiched between the two,” he said.

He recalled that then began the drone attacks, being a clear violation of the human rights but none cared about that. Imran said how he brought human rights groups from abroad and took them to Waziristan for awareness about the repercussions of drone hits. He said that during TV shows, ministers were found to be having no knowledge about tribal areas and even thought that these were part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He promised to make utmost efforts for early merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, underlying the need for mainstreaming of the tribal areas and extending them proper representation in legislatures and access to superior courts.

The PTI chief promised to request the Army Chief for recovery of missing persons and that the innocent in custody be set free. He also promised to request the Army Chief to look into the issue of landmines in the tribal areas, which crippled people.