Pak tribal elders, FATA parliamentarians opt out of Kabul Jirga

Some Pakistani tribal elders and parliamentarians representing the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have said they will not attend this weeks joint Peace Jirga in Kabul.

Peshawar, Aug 6 : Some Pakistani tribal elders and parliamentarians representing the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have said they will not attend this week's joint Peace Jirga in Kabul.

Over 60 tribal elders and clerics, who were selected as Jirga members from North Waziristan and South Waziristan, have opted out, The News reported.

According to the daily, they have citied security concerns as the reason for their non-attendance.

The Pakistan Government had also named some journalists as participants in the Jirga, but they preferred to stay neutral, and cover the event as professionals.

JUI-F and MMA leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman, six tribal MNAs, four Senators from his party elected from FATA, clerics affiliated to the JUI-F and MMA hace said that they will not attend the jirga.

The Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga would be held in Kabul from August 9-11. President Pervez Musharraf and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai are scheduled to speak at the inaugural session on August 9.

The decision to hold the joint Jirga was taken at a meeting hosted by President George W Bush in the White House in Washington last September. It has taken 11 months to organize the Jirga.

ANI