Canada-based Pakhtuns seek end to violence in Pakistan, Afghanistan

A Canada-based organisation of Pakhtuns has demanded the United Nations, United States and world community to take steps for bringing peace to Afghanistan as well as Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan.

In a statement received here from Toronto, the Pakhtuns Peace Forum (PPF) said the objective could be achieved by engaging and empowering political parties of Pakhtuns. It urged the world to immediately provide shelter, food, immigration and refugee status to Pakhtuns displaced in the region on priority basis to save innocent children and women from the war among al-Qaeda, Taliban, military agencies, US and Nato forces.

“The international community needs to strengthen the government of Pakhtuns in NWFP to end the influence of militants and outlaws,” it stressed. “The government of Pakistan should also extend Political Parties Act to Fata, form independent legislative councils, abolish the notorious Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) and Malik system and to give representation to people of Fata in the NWFP Assembly,” it added.

The PPF proposed that Fata should be under the control of the elected Parliament instead of the president. Women and youth should be given the right to sit in jirgas (tribal councils) and assemblies in Fata as the same tribal women had already won their right on the other side of the Durand line in Afghanistan, it noted.

To curb militancy in the area, the organisation suggested that Canada, the US and other countries should divert their investment from war to construction and development of Pakhtuns by investing in education, healthcare and small industries.

The PPF deplored that neither the Pakistan government nor the international community had provided moral or financial support to over 300,000 internally displaced innocent Pakhtuns, who had left their homes due to military operations and activities of militants in the tribal areas.