The Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement’s (PTM) grand jirga in Jamrud concluded on Sunday night, with rights groups presenting a 22-point resolution calling for the withdrawal of militants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and cheaper electricity, among other demands.
The three-day jirga, held with government support, concluded with participants deploring the impact of the past two decades of extremist activity and subsequent counterterrorism operations that have displaced millions of people.
Delegates from various political parties and professional organizations held discussions in 60 separate venues to present their recommendations for a final declaration in a relatively large forum.
The federal government imposed a ban on PTM on October 6, citing threats to national peace and security. According to Pakistan’s Associated Press, PTM was declared “illegal” under Section 11B of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
At the end of the jirga, PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen submitted a 22-point resolution calling for the group to be unbanned.
Pakhtun Qami Jirga’s declaration gave the insurgents and the military an ultimatum to vacate the province for two months.
“If this does not happen, the Jirga will decide how to remove these elements,” the resolution states.
The resolution also called for affordable and consistent electricity transmission to KP.
“Electricity is a resource of Pakhtunkhwa and must be supplied without any reduction in load,” the Jirga decided. He reiterated that electricity tariff should be Rs 5 per unit instead of the current Rs 60/unit and above and that tribal areas should receive free electricity.
Jirga warned that all states would disconnect in case of load shedding.
Additionally, data on Pakhtun land resources will be collected and a team of lawyers will be formed to take action against land grabbers suspected of occupying the lands of martyrs and missing persons. he added.
“Those who have usurped the resources of the people of this state must leave the occupation and give the people their rights,” Jirga said. “This jirga will fight cases in court and, if necessary, may go to international tribunals.”
The Jirga also demanded that the Durand Line, the border with Afghanistan, be opened for visa-free trade between the two countries. “Trade with Afghanistan should be allowed along the route from Chaman to Dir,” the jirga said, warning that “if this is not implemented, the Durand Line checkpoint will be closed.”
Pashteen clarified that women’s education in Afghanistan is not part of the official jirga, but called on the Afghan Taliban to allow women to receive education. “The jirga will also work with Pakhtuns in other provinces,” the paper said.
Additionally, the Jirga promised to form a delegation starting from the Kurram Agency to resolve inter-tribal disputes.
The jirga also demanded that KP receive natural gas and water from the state. Military tribunals and concentration camps should be abolished. All political prisoners to be released. A judicial commission will be established to investigate deaths and disappearances. and the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homelands without coercion.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi attended the jirga and the PTM chief urged the CM to table a resolution in the provincial assembly.
“Regarding the resolution passed by Pakhtun Qaumi Jirga, the next parliament will be convened and it (resolution) will also be passed by the parliament,” Gandapur said while addressing the gathering.
“A meeting of the apex committee has also been convened, where the jirga members will convene and present their proposals.
“The sacrifices of the province and Pakhtun people in the fight against terrorism are not hidden from anyone,” Governor Kundi said. “Pakistan’s military and police have made sacrifices over the past 24 years to end the scourge of terrorism.
“It is very necessary and welcome for Pakhtuns to come together to resolve issues through discussion in a peaceful manner,” the governor added. “We must come together to thwart the ambitions of our nation’s enemies.”
Kundi said the biggest problem facing KP was terrorism, adding that “we all must unite” against it. He promised that the government and the Pakhtuns would jointly confront and defeat the threat.
“The sacrifices made to establish peace across the country, including in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, must not be wasted.”
The jirga also decided to build a multiparty political facility with offices for representatives of all major political parties on the land where the Jamrud rally took place.
