KHYBER: The first day of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement’s Pashtun Qaumi Jirga passed off peacefully here on Friday, with organisers anticipating a larger turnout for the second day of the three-day event.

Thousands of people attended the jirga in the daytime but the number dropped in the evening.

Amid confusion about the jirga due to the previous police actions and the federal government’s ban on the rights movement, the event began on Friday in Jamrud tehsil here following an “agreement” between the provincial government and PTM late on Thursday.

A government statement revealed that the jirga would be hosted by it under the supervision of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, but neither foreign flags would be allowed to be hoisted at the jirga’s venue nor would PTM members shout any slogans against the state and its institutions, especially the Army and the Constitution.

Participants complain about poor arrangements, absence of Pashteen

The agreement came after a lengthymeeting between the CM-headed government team and Manzoor Pashteen-led PTM leadership in Jamrud on Thursday night at the residence of local PTI leader Ameer Mohammad.

The statement added that Ali Amin Gandapur assured the PTM delegation that he would lay all demands of the jirga before the federal government as it was his top priority to restore peace in the province.

As the jirga began at its designated venue on Friday, participants complained about poor arrangements by the PTM volunteers.

While Manzoor Pashteen was not seen all through the day, delegates from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Balochistan struggled to find a suitable place for themselves at the event and remained unaware of the first day’s agenda due to the “clueless” PTM activists.

The PTM had announced that separate enclosures would be established for delegates coming in from far-off areas. However, the crackdown on event organisers made it difficult for organisers to arrange tents and other goods for the event.

“Majority of participants on the first day of jirga were just onlookers, mostly youth who showed up just to see what was happening there without being aware of the actual purpose of the event,” resident Khiyal Mat Shah told Dawn.

He said thousands of people came to the jirga but necessary arrangements and facilities for them were missing.

“PTM volunteers, too, were confused about how to handle the situation as they’re given permission to properly hold the meeting late on Thursday night,” he said.

Mr Shah said the jirga’s site was not only covered in dust and uneven but it was also “a bit far off” from the main Peshawar-Torkham Highway, with a large number of aspiring participants finding it difficult to locate the venue on their own.

Sajid Ali, another young participant, said that there was no proper sound system, while delegates and political parties’ representatives held their own “corner meetings” to keep themselves busy in the absence of proper seating arrangements and separate enclosures.

He added that though the provincial government had pledged to arrange 5,000 tents for the event along with the sound systemand uninterruptedpower supply, those pledges were unfulfilled until Friday evening.

“I believethat the PTM madewrong estimates about the number of participants on the opening day of the jirga, so there was chaos and confusion, witha sizablenumber of attendees returning to their homes before sunset,” he told Dawn.

The participant said that the first day of the jirga was lost to disorder due to poor arrangements and the absence of the top PTM leadership.

The attendees included relatives of missing persons. Members of displaced families also showed up and complained they had long been awaiting compensationfor damaged properties.

However, the day went well for those who established temporaryfood and drink stalls wearing the typical PTM caps.

Several political leaders, including ANP’s Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Shah Hussain Yousafzai, PTI’s Asad Qaisar and Umar Ayub, National Democratic Movement’s Afrasiab Khattak, and Bushra Gohar also attended the jirga.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024