Situation in merged districts: PTM MNA asks president to call parliament’s joint session

PESHAWAR: The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader and Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar has asked President Arif Alvi to call a joint session of the parliament focusing on the single point agenda to discuss the situation in the merged districts in general and North Waziristan and South Waziristan in particular.

In a letter to President Arif Alvi, Mohsin Dawar claimed that the security situation in all the merged districts, particularly in North Waziristan and South Waziristan has continued to deteriorate. There has been a substantial rise in the cases of targetted attacks by non-state actors and extrajudicial killings over the last few years, he claimed.

He pointed out that over the last few months, the Utmanzai Wazirs in North Waziristan, the Ahmadzai Wazirs in South Waziristan and the locals of Janikhel in Bannu have held large public gatherings to convey their concerns to the State.

These tribespeople, he added, had demanded the the restoration of peace, and justice for those killed. They also demanded demilitarisation of their areas and transfer of administrative affairs to civilian authorities, he added. The people also demanded implementation of reforms, including the packages promised at the time of merger and opening of the area to the national media and civil society for bringing them into the mainstream, he said.

Mohsin Dawar argued it should be ensured that the three percent share of the NFC for reconstruction activities in the newly merged districts is made available and the people whose homes, properties and businesses were destroyed in the war on terror were compensated.

He said while the state claims to have carried out several military operations against terrorists in these areas over the years, the region remained volatile as the ground realities were unchanged for the locals.