PESHAWAR
A delegation comprising local clerics and tribal elders of tribal district Kurram on Wednesday visited Awami National Party (ANP) headquarters Bacha Khan Markaz and held a detailed meeting with the party senior leaders in view of ongoing tension in the district.
The delegation led by Maulana Abid Shakeri met with ANP secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain, provincial general secretary Sardar Hussain Babak and culture secretary Khadim Hussain.
Talking to the delegation, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the government and local administration should play their active role in implementing an immediate ceasefire in Kurram district.
He said that ANP has always supported the stance of peace and would extend its efforts for the implementation of policy of non-violence.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that whoever is involved in the ongoing tension in the district should be made accountable; he said and added that inciting sectarianism is not acceptable under any circumstances.
ANP leaders said that killings in the name of Shia-Sunni riots should be stopped as soon as possible.
He said that ANP’s stance against terrorism is clear from day one, terrorists have no religion and killing innocent people is terrorism which cannot be linked to any religion or sect.
A uniformed jirga of elders should be established to restore peace in the tribal district Kurram and defuse tension among the different tribes, ANP leader Sardar Hussain Babik added and said that its party senior leadership is ready to take every step to restore peace in the region.
According to the district administration, several people have been killed and many other injured in the clashes in parts of Kurram district which continued for the ninth consecutive day on Wednesday. It is pertinent to mention here that the provincial government, local clerics and tribal elders have failed to broker any peace agreement between the warring factions of Kurram district.
According to sources, warring groups are using heavy and sophisticated weapons which have created fear among the local residents.
