PESHAWAR: In yet another rare show of political unity, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and opposition formed a joint stance against civilian casualties in drone strikes, announcing a special assembly session, a cabinet meeting and a grand tribal jirga this week to devise a common strategy.
The decisions were taken at a Joint Jirga headed by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the CM House in Peshawar the other day.
The jirga, attended by treasury and opposition members, unanimously declared that civilian martyrdoms — whether from terrorism or drone strikes — were unacceptable.
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The jirga announced a three-step response:
– Thursday: Special session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to debate the issue of civilian casualties in tribal districts.
– Friday: Special meeting of the provincial cabinet to review security policy and the fallout of recent strikes.
– Saturday: Grand tribal jirga at the Chief Minister’s House to build consensus beyond party lines on a provincial strategy.
In light of the developments, the Chief Minister’s scheduled visit to Lahore has been postponed, officials said.
Jirga members stressed that the people of the tribal districts “cannot be forced to pay a double price” — targeted by militancy on one hand and killed in drone operations on the other.
“Neither terrorism nor civilian martyrdoms in drone attacks [are acceptable],” the jirga said in its joint stance. “Targeting the people simultaneously with terrorism and drone attacks is unacceptable.”
Participants rejected the justification of civilian deaths as “mistakes”, saying the chain of such incidents must stop. “Despite modern technology, the martyrdom of citizens due to continuous mistakes is not acceptable in any way,” jirga members said, adding that the system had failed if “mistakes” continued to claim ordinary lives.
“Apologies cannot compensate for the lives lost. The losses are irreparable,” they added.
Warning on unrest, CTD funding noted
Speaking after the jirga, Sohail Afridi said the province “cannot afford further unrest” and that “decision-makers must understand that the blood of the people is not cheap.”
He noted that Rs. 26 billion had been allocated this year for the Counter Terrorism Department and Special Branch to further strengthen the province’s capacity against terrorism.
The jirga concluded with an agreement to adopt a common strategy “beyond political affiliation” to safeguard civilians in the merged districts, where members said “mistakes are continuously targeting ordinary citizens.”
