The mediation committee, which comprises parliamentarians from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and elders from Shiite and Sunnis sects, will work further on some of the issues to reach a final agreement. Around 2000 people in the restive Kurram Agency have been killed due to this unrest since April, this year.
The situation was out of the government control and the jirga, which had been holding meetings for the three consecutive days in Islamabad, was the first formal attempt to bring normalcy to Kurram agency. "We have expressed confidence in the mediation committee and both the sides empowered it to keep their efforts continue to bring peace in the area", said Gul Ahmed Mangal while talking to media persons here on Sunday. He said that they suggested to the political administration to take action against those who would continue fighting. "We are hopeful that Shiites and Sunnis are very close to a permanent peace," he said. The 30-member grand jirga comprising elders from both warring groups met here at a local hotel with the mediation committee and gave complete power to set ways for bringing durable peace in the Agency.
The committee comprised 17 parliamentarians from Fata including MNAs Muneer Khan Orakzai and Sajid Hussain Turi and Senator Eng Rasheed Ahmed from Kurram Agency, Federal Minister for Environment Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi and MNA Noor-ul-Haq Qadri from Khyber Agency, MNA Eng Shaukat Ullah from Bajaur Agency, MNA Mohammad Kamran Khan from North Waziristan and Malik Jawad Hussain Orakzai from Orakzai Agency, ex-MNA Bismillah Khan from Bajaur, Saeed Khan, Syed Shah Hussain Hussaini, Mehtab-ul-Hassan and other elders of both Shia and Sunni sects from Hangu.
The parliamentarians from Fata and 24 important elders from other tribal agencies would take affidavit of Rs 20 million from both the tribes as cease-fire agreement. Fine of Rs 20 million would be imposed against those who violate the cease-fire agreement.
The tribesmen decided that there would be a complete cease-fire until the jirga is in session and urged the political administration to deploy contingents of Frontier Corps from Monday, (today) at the hideouts that have been occupied by the warring groups against each other and that action should be taken against those who violate the cease-fire accord. "Both the tribes want peace in the Kurram Agency and there is no difference of opinion in bringing peace to the area", said Niaz Mohammad who is representing Turi tribe in the Jirga. He said that the jirga members were unanimous in empowering the mediation committee to sort out an agreed criterion for the restoration of peace.