Members of Parliament from tribal regions on Tuesday boycotted a Jirga held with President General Pervez Musharraf in the chair, a tribal parliamentarian said. Senator Hameedullah Afridi told reporters that the government does not take elected representatives from tribal regions into confidence while chalking out policies for tribal areas.
The jirga was convened to seek support from the tribal elders to expel al Qaeda linked foreigners from the tribal regions. Afridi said that out of total 20 members of National Assembly and Senators from tribal region, 19 boycotted the Jirga and only one member, who is cabinet minister, was present in the function.
It is the first time that parliamentarians from tribal areas boycotted the Jirga. Afridi said that the Jirga is nothing but just a show and that is why the elected representatives boycotted it. The parliamentarians were not informed about the Jirga's agenda.