The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) discussed an inquiry report on Tuesday. The report said that many innocent people were suffering due to the Wana operation. It said that many people had been killed and their families had not been compensated. The PHCBA, after reviewing the report, condemned the military operation in South Waziristan. It said that the operation should be stopped immediately and local tribesmen compensated. The association said that the operation would create hatred against the armed forces. A three-member inquiry commission, after visiting affected areas and interviewing locals, prepared the report. The commission consisted of Muhammad Khurshid Khan, Wali Afridi and Abdul Karim Mehsud.
PHCBA Secretary General Wali Khan Afridi said that the commission met with the district bar association of Tank, lawyers, local journalists and social workers and interviewed tribesmen in Tank and adjacent areas. "We met a 15-year old boy, Noorullah, who was arrested when he was taking his injured cousin to the hospital," he said. The commission assured him of full legal support, he added. He said that thousands of innocent tribesmen had fled their homes fearing bombardment and had taken shelter in Tank and adjacent areas while some had migrated to Punjab and Karachi. "Some people have taken shelter in an abandoned Afghan refugee camp in Dera Ismail Khan," he said. He said that the commission wanted to visit Wana, but was denied permission by the political administration. |