TIMERGARA: The militants, who surrendered to a local jirga in Upper Dir on Saturday, have said that they were deceived by the leaders of Taliban in the name of holy war.
Security forces on Sunday presented 22 surrendered militants of Doog Darra before the media at Dir Scouts Qilla in Balambat.
The surrendered militants including five key fighters -- Ibrahim, Shakirullah, Fazal Hayat, Javid and Mohammad Saad -- told reporters that Taliban leaders had deceived them that fighting against security forces and police was jihad. They admitted that they had been fighting against the local lashkar formed against Taliban in Doog Darra for the last 40 days.
‘Now we realised we were wrong. We surrender of our own free will. We promise to fight for Pakistan side by side with army in future if given a chance,’ Ibrahim, the leader of surrendered militants, said.
They said some of their colleagues were still present in Doog Darra but they would also be persuaded till August 30 to lay down arms and stop fighting against the local lashkar and security forces. They said they were not Taliban but when Taliban began preaching in the area they supported them.
‘We did not want to fight against the lashkar. But the lashkar attacked Taliban and we were besieged in our villages. Then we decided to fight against the lashkar to protect Taliban fighters,’ another surrendered militant Shakirullah told journalists.
The remaining surrendered militants were identified as Khawalid, Fazal Karim, Badsha Daman, Sher Zada, Bacha Sayed, Rahmatullah, Mohammad Amin, Gul Mohammad, Nasrud Din, Saeed, Nasibullah, Yousaf, Zarief Khan, Sayed Ahmad Khan, Sayed Akbar, Tacham Khan and Pervez. All of them belonged to Mina Doog, Shat Kass and Katier villages of the Doog Darra.
They said that Doog Darra Taliban had gone back to Afghanistan as they were Afghan nationals. They said that Taliban were using the name of Islam and jihad but actually they were destroying Pakistan. ‘We will never support Taliban in future,’ they said.
The in-charge of Dir media centre, Major Ilyas, said on the occasion that surrendered militants would be handed over to police. The government, not the security forces, would decide about their future, he added.
Meanwhile, an ISPR spokesman told Dawn that total 31 militants in Doog Darra had been surrendered so far.
He said that the rest nine surrendered militants would also be presented before the media soon.
COMPENSATION SOUGHT: The local non governmental organisations and internally displaced persons from Maidan on Sunday demanded of the government and donor agencies to pay compensation to those, who had suffered losses due to military operation in Lower Dir.
Addressing a joint press conference here on Sunday rights activists Akbar Khan and Umar Zada and Maidan IDPs representatives Abdullah and Jehan Bahadar said that displaced persons of Dir had not been treated like those of Swat, Buner and Bajaur.
They said that more than three million residents of Lower Dir were forced to leave their homes. ‘Despite the passage of three months the process of registration of Maidan IDPs has not been completed and they are still waiting for assistance,’ they added.
They alleged that government and donor agencies had ignored the IDPs living in Lower and Upper Dir. They said that stakeholders should be included in damages assessment process and preparing a compensation plan as well.
The local community, they said, should be taken into confidence about any plan or project. They said local organisations could arrange relief activities better than non-locals.
The IDPs complained that neither local lawmakers nor other ministers and officials had visited their camps to observe their condition.
They demanded of the government to start registration process in Dir and provide them cash cards, food and other relief items. They also demanded of the government to provide them security and transport for repatriation.
They threatened to hold protest demonstration in front of the chief minister house in Peshawar if their demands were not met.
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