Jirga proceedings sabotaged after FIR was lodged against its members

Author: Jawad Zulfiqar

LAHORE: A First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the members of the jirga sabotaged its proceedings on Tuesday at a village in Hashtnagar area of Charsadda district.

The jirga was formed on Monday to resolve a land dispute between the landlords and farmers following an incident in which many farmers, women and children resisted a disposession bid by a landlord named Rab Nawaz.

The clash between the Frontier Corps (FC) personnel who accompanied Rab Nawaz, and the locals was intense but there were no casualities.

Taling to Daily Times, Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Party (PMKP) Chairman Afzal Shah Khamosh said that a FIR against 40 people including the members of the jirga was lodged in Tangi Police Station by Rab Nawaz’s paternal cousin Akram Khan under Section 78A of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). The police also sealed the FIR and the names of those listed in it were not revealed, he added.

Afzal also said that the jirga committee reached a deadlock before it could even begin its proceedings. He also said that the jirga committee would hold a press conference at Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Khalid Khan’s house on Wednesday to announce its future plans which include a series of protests if the FIR was not cancelled.

“Comrade Shahid who is a member of the jirga committee told me that the jirga had warned that if the FIR lodged against them was not cancelled, they would initiate a series of protests,” Afzal said.

He also said that the police also asked the Public Prosecutor to be involved in the case.

Published in Daily Times, December 6^th2017.