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Durrani asks govt to stop use of force in Fata, Swat
Vice President Pakistan Muslim League-Q Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani on Tuesday asked the government to abandon the use of air power and heavy artillery in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Swat."The government should order an end to the use of air force and heavy artillery in the Fata and Swat regions in order to avoid collateral damage," he said while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. He urged the government to raise the issue of drone attacks at the United Nations, convene federal and provincial cabinet meetings in Fata and Swat and provide facilities to 600,000 internally displaced people (IDPs). He also advocated collaboration between the PML-Q and the PML-N, making an important offer that the PML-Q was ready to sign the Charter of Democracy (CoD) as a confidence building measure (CBM) on the pattern of London CoD. Durrani asked the government to immediately shift its focus on restoring its writ in Fata and Swat. He said unfortunately, it seems that the government functionaries have been restricted to the federal capital while armed forces are battling the militants in Swat and Fata. Durrani said the rulers are busy in roaming around the globe or in drawing room politics. "The rulers should now leave their bunkers and visit Swat and Fata". Rather, he said the next meetings of the federal and NWFP cabinets should be convened in Fata and Swat respectively just to convey a message to the inhabitants of the areas that the government shared their concerns. He said around 600,000 people affected by Fata and Swat operations had migrated from their areas and this was the largest internal migration in the history of the country. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-04 |
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