Grievances of tribal areas should be solved politically: Khawaja Asif

PML-N MNA Khawaja Asif on Monday, in the backdrop of yesterday's clash at a North Waziristan checkpost, urged lawmakers to play a role in the political resolution to the complaints of tribal areas' residents.

Three people were killed and 15 ? including five soldiers ? were injured in an exchange of fire in North Waziristan's Boyya area, when the Kharqamar checkpost was attacked during a protest, in which Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement members were also participating.

Addressing a National Assembly sitting, Asif called for a parliamentary committee to probe the grievances of the people of erstwhile Fata.

"The grievances of [tribal areas' residents] should be solved politically, not with force," he said. "Obstacles will come in our way because we have been exploiting the area for the last 30 to 35 years. The back drop of the yesterday's incident was that we exploited the area." "Two MNAs are being named in yesterday's incident. One has been arrested while one is said to be at large," Asif said.

"It is the KP chief minister's responsibility to talk about [these issues]. It is the defence minister's [Pervez Khattak] responsibility - who was the chief minister of KP for five years - to talk about it. The interior ministry should speak about it. These issues must be dealt with proactively." "Security forces should not be attacked. They have rendered immense sacrifices but at the same time we should realise that the faultline be dealt politically and not by force." "Bring them into your fold, bring them into the political mainstream," he said. The PML-N lawmaker also said that the prime minister "should have issued a statement on yesterday's incident".

"Until you bring that area into the political mainstream, the elements across the border will exploit the situation," he cautioned. "Wherever differences lie, wherever faultines exist, our enemy will exploit them."

"KP and particularly the former Fata region was the front line region in the war against terrorism during the last three to four decades.

"We destroyed the culture and identity of Fata for our proxy wars," he regretted. "If we don't correct our faultlines, our sovereignty would be jeopardised. I can gave examples from the past" Asif said. "Our history of the past 72 years is tragic. We have committed mistakes in the past. The mistakes in East Pakistan caused the annexation of Bengal. Unrest in Balochistan has continued on and off for many years."

He recalled that earlier this month the Lower House had unanimously passed a constitutional amendment presented by MNA Mohsin Dawar, without a dissenting note.

"It was the first instance where a private bill was converted into the amendment," Asif said. "The amendment is yet to be passed by the Senate because some forces are in action to prevent it from being passed.