PESHAWAR: Announcing full support to the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), the Progressive Democratic Alliance here Friday stressed the need for formation of a new commission to trace missing persons, a special fund for the people affected by terrorism and acceptance of other demands of the newly emerged rights movement.

The demands were made at a seminar on “Possible solution and recommendations for durable peace on Pakhtun soil” held at the Peshawar Press Club.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s former sentaor Farhatullah Babar, Professor Dr Ijaz Khattak, Mukhtar Bacha of National Party, Afzal Shah Khamosh of Mazdoor Kisan Party, Fanoos Gujjar and others spoke on the occasion.

The participants termed the struggle and demands of PTM genuine and rightful and declared full support to it.

Some recommendations were also made for restoration of peace in the Pakhtun-populated areas.

The speakers said the Pakhtun belt had been badly affected by terrorism for the last several decades and there was a need to revisit the national policies to overcome the menace.

They said all the political and non-political forces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should get united and work together for peace and stability in the Pakhtun belt.

They were of the opinion that good ties with neighbouring countries were necessary for peace in the country. Due to the tension on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, they said the trade volume between the two brotherly Muslim countries had come down to one $1 billion from $3 billion and had directly affected the businesses of the Pakhtuns.

They said the people had suffered huge losses due to terrorism and a special fund should be set up so that employment opportunities could be created in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata.

Lauding the struggle of the PTM, the participants noted that for the first time the Pakhtun youth had launched a genuine struggle for their rights.

Expressing concern over the performance of the existing commission for missing persons, they said it had failed to present any report about the enforced disappearances.

They stressed the need for formation of a new, independent and strong commission for missing persons that should hold meetings on monthly basis. They also expressed serious concern over the blackout of the PTM activities in media.

Farhatullah Babar called for launching “Civilian Terrorism Victims Rehabilitation” project and demanded an end to treating victims as mere statistics in collateral losses.

He also called for an end to mysterious disappearances and a full disclosure about the inmates of internment centres and the status of cases against them. He claimed that “Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation” promulgated in 2011 was given a back-dated effect from 2008 to enable the security agencies to bring into the open those in their custody from 2008.

Deploring that parliamentary questions on these issues were never answered, he said that time had come to take the bull by the horns if the state wishes to peacefully channel voices like that of PTM.

“However, no one knows how many internment centres were set up, where, how many alleged militants kept in these centres, deaths in custody and whether they were being tried in courts,” he added.

The Coalition Support Fund has compensated material losses in the war but no institutional arrangements are made for reparations for the loss of civilian lives, he said.

“The primary responsibility for compensation is that of the Pakistani state. Not demanding reparations on behalf of victims is a crime that needed to be investigated,” he maintained.

Recalling that in May 2013 the Peshawar High Court ruled that drone strikes were illegal and should be declared a war crime. he asked the government to raise the issue of compensation with the UN Secretary General. He reminded that the Senate also passed a unanimous resolution to this effect in December last.

He said the according to reports a 40 million dollars Pakistani Civilian Assistance Fund (PCAF) had been set up sometimes back and asked whether the money had reached the civilian victims of drone strikes?

Farhatullah Babar warned against putting up artificial resistance to the legitimate demands of the people which brought to mind the setting up of Al Shams and Al Badr type outfits in the former East Pakistan in early 1970s.

He said freedom of expression had been stifled through various means including self-censorship, taking channels off air, forcibly stopping distribution of newspapers and other media content in selected areas without recourse to law and even without the knowledge of interior and information ministries and PEMRA.