PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday assured representatives of Pakhtun National Jirga (PNJ) of fulfilling their demands.

In a follow-up meeting held with the jirga members in the provincial capital, the chief minister said that its demands including withdrawal of cases filed against the jirga members would be fulfilled.

“The chief minister assured us that cases will be withdrawn and all the arrested members will be released soon,” PNJ spokesperson Barkat Afridi told Dawn.

He said that they never demanded any compensation for the family members of those, who lost their lives when police attacked the jirga venue last month, but for the damage caused by police when they vandalised the venue.

Mr Afridi said that the chief minister promised to hold a meeting in the near future and to resolve the issues. He said that they sought permission for an intervention to improve situation in Kurram district.

“We asked the chief minister that we have formed a jirga for holding talks with the groups in Kurram for maintaining law and order. He told us to go ahead as an independent jirga. The provincial government will give us legal support,” he said.

About return of displaced persons in district Khyber, he said that the chief minister assured the PNJ members that the issue would be raised at multiple forums. He added that chief minister supported peace efforts in Khyber’s Tirah valley.

On November 15, PNJ announced formation of a legal committee to make recommendations for a ‘new social contract to secure legitimate, constitutional rights’ for Pakhtuns.

The meeting was also attended by head of proscribed Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen, who expressed displeasure over provincial government’s failure to honour its commitment to fulfilling the final declaration of PNJ announced on October 13.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024