PESHAWAR: Lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday once again demanded the implementation of the 15-point communiqué of a grand jirga for lasting peace in the province.
Members of the treasury benches reiterated that force and military operations were not solutions to any crisis. The opposition emphasized the need to strengthen the police by providing modern equipment, weapons, and training to effectively counter militancy in the province.
Provincial Minister for Housing, Dr. Amjad Ali, said that security forces had conducted about 21 major military operations but failed to eliminate terrorists and their networks, while thousands of civilians and security personnel lost their lives over the past two decades.
“Thousands of people were displaced from their hometowns, while hundreds fell victim to collateral damage as a result of military operations,” he said.The minister added that militants had yet to be fully eliminated in the country. He said civilian and elected governments were not allowed to formulate a comprehensive policy to end militancy and terrorism.
Dr. Amjad Ali also accused the military establishment and intelligence agencies of politically victimizing and harassing the leadership and workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal parliamentary party leader, Maulana Lutfur Rehman, said security forces had evacuated local people from their homes in former tribal areas, including Waziristan, Khyber, and Bajaur, during so-called military operations. Even though authorities claimed to have cleared many localities of militants, hundreds of people remained displaced, while militants had reorganized in the same areas.
“Our province and people have been adversely affected by war and instability in the neighboring country. Unfortunately, successive governments have not devised a permanent policy to address the effects of war and militancy in the neighboring country,” he added.
He also accused the PTI government of having double standards on peace in the province, as the provincial government had failed to present clear and serious measures to curb the fresh wave of militancy.
Awami National Party parliamentary party leader, Arbab Usman Khan, said strengthening the police force was the need of the hour, as the police remain on the frontline and have made significant sacrifices in fighting terrorists.
“We must equip our police force with modern and sophisticated weapons, provide new training and techniques, and, above all, enhance their salaries and allowances at all levels,” he added. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly also constituted a special committee to investigate the attacks and ransacking of the Radio Pakistan building in Peshawar on May 9. The provincial cabinet had already approved a probe into the violent attacks.
The provincial assembly passed a resolution demanding the relocation and adjustment of Pakistani students stranded in Afghanistan due to tensions on the Pak-Afghan border. The resolution was moved by PTI MPA Ubaid-Ur-Rehman.The session was adjourned to December 29 due to a lack of quorum.
