LOWER DIR: Jamaat-iIslamichief SirajulHaqon Wednesday said civilians should be tried by antiterrorism and civil courts and not military courts.He, however, said the people found involved in the May 9-10 riots and attacks on government and military installations should be punished.`There is no need for military courts to try civilians as the anti-terrorism and civil courts are already there. However, there shouldn`t be any clemency for the people involved in the May 9-10 vandalism,` Mr Siraj told reporters at a hotelin the Timergara area here.

Former MNA Sahibzada Yaqub Khan, JI leaders Izazul Mulk Afkari and Shad Nawaz Khan, DirChamber of Commerce and Industries president Mian Noor Alam Bacha, and trader leaders Haji Anwaruddin, Hameedur Rehman and Dr Noor Mohammad were also present on the occasion.

The JI chief demanded of the government to immediately bifurcate Malakand division saying the division is the largest in the country with a population of overnine million.

He also called for the restoration of the economic and industrial zone in Malakand under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project.

Mr Siraj said Malakand should be declared a taxfree zone until 2030.

`We [Jamaat] have planned a massive drive to claim rights for Malakand division,` he said.-Correspondent