Islamabad, October 31: The Swat valley tribal elders have called on the government to ban all religious organizations to help stop growing militancy in the region.
At a press conference in Makaan Bagah area of the Swat valley, tribal elders urged the government in Islamabad to ban all Jihadi groups to maintain peace in the region.
The elders said that there is a need to expel militants in order to eliminate terrorism.
“If the government really wants to maintain peace in the region, it has to ban all religious groups who are directly or indirectly involved in supporting the militants,” they said.
They added that the people of the region backed Pakistani army’s Swat operation and demanded the punishment of Sufi Muhammad, Muslim Khan, Mahmood Khan and many other militants, who were arrested during the operation.
The demand came at a time when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Pakistani tribal elders in Islamabad on Friday, wrapping up a diplomatic visit overshadowed by a public outburst against the Pakistani government over its failure to arrest key al-Qaeda leaders and a devastating attack in the restive city of Peshawar which killed more than 100 people.
—–Agencies