Sit-in of Kurram Agency's tribesmen enters fifth day: protesters' seek release of elders

A 15-member representative delegation will discuss the demands of local tribesmen with political administration as the tribesmen have been staging a sit-in for the last five days in Parachinar, the headquarters of Kurram Agency, to seek a religious cleric's backing for getting their elders released.
The delegation, according to MNA from Kurram Agency's NA-37, Sajid Hussain Turi, has been constituted on the advice of Commissioner Kohat, which along with a 16-member tribal jirga would negotiate the demands of the local tribes with political administration.
Talking to Business Recorder, the MNA said that he had also written a letter to Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to convey the local tribes' demands along with alleged interference of Peshawar's Corp Commander in the political administration's affairs of Kurram Agency.
He also referred to the problems being created for the people of Parachinar by paramilitary forces - Frontier Corps (FC) at security check posts while travelling in and out of Kurram Agency, adding that the locals with CNIC of Parachinar, Kurram Agency are being stopped for hours in the name of registration.
About the demands of the participants of those staging a sit-in in Parachinar that entered the fifth day on Saturday, he said that the locals have been demanding immediate release of their elders; Khateeb of central mosque Agha Mohammad Nawaz Irfani be allowed to lead the Friday prayers and unfreezing of bank accounts of the charity trust run by the central mosque.
"We have conveyed all the demands to responsible government forums and we are hopeful that all the demands will be met", he said, urging the political administration not to take any action against the protesters. He accused the administration of stopping the water supply to the participants of the sit-in who are staging protests at four different locations in Kurram Agency. Meanwhile, speaking at a news conference here at National Press Club, Air Marshal Syed Qaiser Hussain (Retd), who lost the last year's general election to the incumbent Sajid Hussain Turi from NA-37, accused Agha Nawaz Irfani of creating law and order situation in Parachinar.
"Agha Irfani also helped Sajid Turi to rig the last year's general elections and paved the way to win from NA-37. He should not be allowed to come back in Kurram Agency", he added. He also demanded that impartial inquiry should be conducted into the alleged corruption in the charity trust which is headed by Agha Nawaz Irfani. This correspondent also interviewed several local elders in Parachinar on Friday who blamed the local administration and the FC for creating unnecessary problems for the local tribesmen on the pretext of security check posts, as the locals along with women and children were seen standing in long queues for clearances at the check posts.
It was seen that locals with CNIC of Parachinar were being asked at security check posts by the FC personnel to wait until they get approval from their bosses. Similarly, the locals also complained that they were not being allowed to transport their vegetables to rest of the country. "It is tomato season and the local farmers are losing millions of rupees each day due to rotten vegetables," they added.
"A box of tomato which we used to sell at Rs 1500 is now being sold at Rs 300 in local villages", said Akbar Ali, a local farmer. He also claimed that the FC personnel were not allowing them to transport their vegetables to markets in Islamabad and Peshawar. However, a security official who requested not to be named said that they have some security issues for which the locals were being asked to meet the laid down procedures in getting through their commodities. He said that the security forces were not discriminating with any local tribe in this case.