(که سپوره وي که پوره وي نو په شریکه به وي (باچاخان)

Mainstreaming FATA

[22.Oct.2008 - 11:41]
Peshawar22.10.2008: Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has once again made it clear on the world that the Pakhtun nation was not a terrorist nation but a sheer victim of terrorism and devoted to religion. The issue of Fata is a matter of life and death for us as a totally wrong impression is given to the word that the whole situation is created by the people of tribal areas and they are breading militancy, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said while expressing his views during a seminar on FATA at a local hotel on Monday.
The chief minister said that the doors for talks were still opened for those willing to recognize the writ of the state and lay down their arms. The workshop was organized by sub-organization of Bhutto Foundation, Benazir Democracy Institute. Paying rich tributes to the Bhutto family, Hoti said that the sacrifices rendered by the family of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for elimination of dictatorship and supremacy of democracy and the parliament were matchless. He said it was the reason that the PPP was the largest political force of the country and hoped that the party would guide the nation towards a right direction to steer it out of the crises. Referring to situation in FATA, Ameer Haider Hoti said that the issue of militancy in Waziristan was not resolved on time which resulted into engulfing other peaceful parts of the country. He said that he had told the president and the prime minister that the issue should not be considered as limited to FATA and frontier province only. Without peace in FATA, thinking about peace in our settled areas is unjustifiable, he added. The chief minister said that the people of FATA should be taken onboard about bringing administrative and political reforms and amendments in FCR so that the tribesmen could be enabled to decide their fate. He said that every change into FCR should be carried out in accordance with the traditions and wishes of the people of FATA and they should be ensured basic facilities of life. The chief minister said that the whole country should support the Pakhtun nation, who is fighting the war for survival of the entire country, adding Pakistan and Afghanistan should jointly work to deal with the situation. He termed the upcoming Pak-Afghan jirga a ray of hope and expressed the optimism that it would produce positive results. He said that bullets and guns was not the solution to the problem, adding talks and negotiations could help resolve the issue. He said that his government took the initiative of resolving the issue through dialogue, but conspiracies were being hatched out to derail the processes. He said that some forces including foreign were against the peace and it was their collective responsibility to stop them as no one would come from abroad to save them. Pakhtun nation has to awaken and united to get rid of the situation, he said. The chief minister said that they wanted to give representation to the tribal people in provincial assembly because the assembly was incomplete without their representation. However, he said every decision should be taken with involvement of the tribal people. Addressing the workshop, chief of Benazir Democracy Institute and spokesman for president Farhatullah Babar said that the militant organizations were receiving arms and dollars for making ineffective the tribal areas and similar conspiracies were also underway against the Pakistani government. Later, talking to media people, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti said that he discussed poverty, ROZs and development related matters with Richard Boucher during their meeting. He said that the government was still intact to its three-prong policy and was ready to enter dialogue with those ready to surrender. He said that operation in Swat district would continue till achieving its objectives and it would be stopped within one hour of peace restoration. Provincial president Awami National Party (ANP), Afrasiyab Khan Khattak welcomes the plan to set up industrial zone in FATA and Balochistan. Talking to a foreign radio, he said the plan was discussed in a recent meeting held between Richard Boucher and Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti in which Richard Boucher told the Chief Minister that the industrial zone in FATA and Balochistan would be established under the ROZ programme. The legislation regarding industrial zone has been finalised in the meeting which is expectedly be approved at the end of this year by the US Congress. US has also shown interest in development work in the tribal areas, he said. He said the two leaders have also discussed law and order situation in the province and reaffirmed their resolve to further strengthen democracy and restore peace in the region. The government is making efforts to control the existing situation, the efforts on military level would not yield results unless political and economic measures are taken besides it, he said. He said there are certain hurdles on economic front due to financial constraints. Our government wants that the US should focus on giving economic assistance to our province instead of military aid to control current situation, he added. Provincial president of the Awami National Party Afrasiab Khattak has said that some elements were active to fulfill the designs of imperialistic forces to push the democratically elected government towards instability paving way for dictatorship. ´Apparently they are against the imperialistic forces, but in fact they are puppet in their hands, who want the nation to be shackled in slavery and under the rule of dictators,´ Afrasiab said while addressing an impressive ceremony being arranged by Peace Foundation in connection with financial assistance to those suffered during the terrorist activities, at the Frontier House in Peshawar on Tuesday. Peace awards were also distributed on the occasion. ´No human will prefer to war against peace. As in peace, the sons carry out the funeral of their parents, but in war the parents have to carry the coffins of their beloved sons,´ provincial peace envoy said.. He said this region, 2500 years ago was center of Gandahara civilization, who gave the world, the message of peace. Education from the seminaries in Samarkand and Bukhara entered this way to the South Asia. He said the land of the preachers of humanity, Rehman Baba, Khushal Khan Khattak, and the homeland of the great freedom fighter and believer of non-violence Abdul Ghafar Khan Baba can never resort or support the terrorism. ´Islam stands for peace, and there is no room for terrorism in it,´ he added. The ANP leader said that due to wrong polices of the dictators in 1980s, the peace loving Pakhtun nation was engaged in the war of supper powers. ´But, unfortunately, our rulers did not foresee the results of the war and with intervention of several countries, the tribal belt was turned into a hot bed of warriors,´ he added. ´The war is still continuing, and the Pakhtun nation on both sides of the Durand Line is used as fuel and a conspiracy of genocide killings of the nation,´ he maintained. He said on the behest of western powers, the jihad was privatized as a result the region was turned into the most dangerous part of the world Afrasiab said that on other side of the border, tens of thousands of children were unable to go to schools from last many years as their education institutes had been destroyed. ´The trend is now started on this side of the border where hundreds of schools were either burnt or destroyed,´ Khattak said and added the elements should tell them that whether there were American children studying in these schools which they destroyed with own hands. He further said in the past realties were being hidden while for the first time the elected democratic government declared the situation a rebel extremism. He said the tribal areas were the victims of terrorism after the war of others was launched there, adding thousands of tribal elders, who were champions of negotiations and jirgas were victimized for not supporting the terrorist elements. However, the incumbent government, which came to rule with heavy mandate despite internal and external pressure, launched its efforts to resolve the issue through talks and agreements. ´But our sincere efforts were sabotaged through conspiracies,´ he added. Afrasiab Khattak expressed the hope that they will defeat the sabotaging elements with unflinching support of the masses, who voted the rulers for peace. ´The situation will not remain the same for a long time and it would be under control soon,´ he added. Khattak appreciated the efforts of the Peace Foundation for giving assistance to the victims of violence and said it was the first occasion that a revolutionary step was being taken from the civil society. He voiced full support to the foundation on the behalf of chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti. He said the government was committed to give the children pens in their hands instead of weapons. In his speech, the MPA and political coordinator of the Peace Foundation Alam Zeb Khan said that the military rulers had imposed the war of the US and Russia on the Pakhtun soil and the war was meant for destruction of the Pakhtun nation. He said the elements in the name of Shariah were shedding the blood of innocent Muslims and trying to send back the nation to the Stone Age. He appealed to the nation to strike unity among their ranks against the common enemy, which he termed the solo solution to avoid being killed by the terrorists. Alam Zeb Khan paid rich tributes to the martyrs of Wali Bagh attack, saying their sacrifices would not go in waste. He also thanked the philanthropists and other people who generously contributed in giving financial relief to the victims. دپښتنو قامی سنګر - د پښتونخوا خبریال
بېرته شاته