Bajaur: Salarzai’s Jirga decides to act against militants’ facilitators

ISLAMABAD: A grand tribal Jirga of Salarzai elders in Bajaur’s district on Saturday announced that strict action would be taken against those found facilitating militants.

The Jirga, attended by all Salarzai tribes, was convened to send a clear message that militants and their supporters must stay away from their relatively peaceful region.

The meeting came as security forces continued targeted operations against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), after earlier efforts by elders to persuade the militants to leave had failed.

Security forces pounded TTP positions in Mamond on Saturday, according to local journalist Hasbanullah.

“If anyone in Salarzai facilitates armed groups, his house will be demolished, he will be expelled from the area, fined Rs5 million, and his family will be declared enemies of the entire nation,” the Jirga declared in a statement.

The elders also announced a ban on unnecessary night-time movement. “If the government or any of its agencies want to take action in Salarzai, it will be done during the day. No one will be allowed at night,” the statement read.

The Jirga further resolved that if a security problem arises in any part of Salarzai, the entire tribe will confront it collectively. Guards will also be deployed across the area.

Participants demanded the formation of a Supreme Court–led committee to investigate all operations in the tribal districts from 2002 to 2025, and called for all detainees from Salarzai to be produced before the people.

Dozens of elders, including MPA Anwar Zeb Khan, Malik Gul Karim Khan, Malik Nawaz Khan, Malik Rasool Khan, Malik Khanzada and Mian Habib Gul, attended the Jirga.

At the outset of the peace process this month, the Jirga leader had told TTP members to either return across the border or move to the mountains, saying locals could not tolerate the presence of militants in populated areas. The TTP rejected the proposal, insisting they were locals and would not leave.

Earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had released Rs1.8 billion to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to provide immediate relief to more than 18,000 people displaced from 30 villages in Mamond tehsil of Bajaur district after a targeted operation was launched against banned TTP militants.