A grand jirga, consisting of representatives from all tribes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), has set May 12 as the deadline for the government to meet its demands before negotiating a peaceful solution to the issue of the presence of foreign militants in the tribal belt, a tribal elder said on Thursday. During President Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with tribal elders in Peshawar on April 26, Malik Khan Zeb from North Waziristan urged Musharraf to give the “tribal system a chance to resolve the issue”, which the president accepted. A 28-member jirga, including elders and clerics, was later formed.The jirga’s demands include removal of check-posts and a ceasefire. A major demand is to ensure a “complete independent status” for the jirga to work in “a free environment”.
The elders also stressed that the government should ensure the implementation of the jirga’s decisions and suggestions, a communiqué from the Governor’s House read. “The tribal system has the capability to resolve such sensitive and delicate issues if it is taken sincerely,” Khalilur Rehman, the NWFP governor, told the 28-member jirga. Official sources told Daily Times that the governor was pushing hard to find a negotiated settlement to the North Waziristan problem and “a top civilian official” in Peshawar was assigned the task to work on a non-military solution. “A kind of blue print is close to final and all aspects were discussed to prepare the ground for a political process,” official sources said. Security experts have warned the government saying that the ongoing military operation is “increasing enemies rather than making friends”.