PESHAWAR: A consultative jirga, held under the auspices of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl here on Monday, announced plans to organise a multiparty conference of Pakhtun leadership to discuss the issue of lawlessness in southern and merged tribal districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and propose solutions.

The Pashtun National Fata Consultative Jirga was held at the Nishtar Hall here, where JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, senior party leaders and a large number of tribal elders were in attendance.

Through a formal declaration, the jirga voiced concerns over the deteriorating security situation, targeted killings, and action against tribesmen in the name of anti-terrorism operations in southern and merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and urged authorities to take concrete steps to restore peace in the region.

It also said that the use of force and operations had failed to restore peace in the region, so meaningful dialogue should be started to maintain law and order.

`The framework and [peace] formula outlined by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in his last year visit to Afghanistan and the talks he had initi-ated should be brought to its logical end,` the declaration read.

The jirga also expressed concerns over the lack of health, educational, and other basic facilities and growing unemployment in merged districts and urged authorities to take corrective measures.

It called for early release of the outstanding amount of the previously announced development package.

Thejirga also said thatthe resources of the province, especially tribal districts, should be spent on the progress and development of the region.

It also said that right of Pakhtuns to their resources should be acknowledged and that the government should pay compensation for the public propertylost by residents during the war on terrorism.

In the declaration, participants called for the abolition of two per cent cess on the imports and exports, and withdrawal of the agricultural income tax, which, they insisted, has been imposed under the pressure of the International Monetary Fund.

They also demanded implementation of the 14-point Kurram Accord to end sectarian violence in the tribal district.

The jirga called for the release of those detained during the Pashtun Qaumi Jirga held in Khyber district last October and said the FIR registered against participants should be withdrawn.It also said the trade and travel with Afghanistan should be made hasslefree, while border crossings in Bajaur, Khyber, North Waziristan and Kurram tribal districts should be opened to trade.

The participants demanded the production of missing persons from all over the country in the courts of law and the release of innocent ones.

Addressing the gathering, the JUI-F chief insisted that the US was considering waging another war on Afghanistan, while Pakistani rulers were ready to serve as a proxy state to make Afghans fight each other.

He said that if some of his utterances didn`t sit well with powers that be, then they should declare him `anti-state and traitor.

Mr Fazl, however, said that actual anti-state people were those who considered the Constitution a worthless piece of paper and were not willing to respect it.

He said that his party was not against Fata`s merger with KP and instead, it had called for a referendum in the region to know whether residents wanted to merge with Pakistan, maintain the status quo, or want a separate province for themselves.

`Peace is the first prerequisite for merger but there`s been no peace in the region several years after the KP-Fata merger,` he said.

The JUI-F chief said peace was the only condition for prosperity and people`s development but lawlessness had completely shut down the doors of uplift and progress.