Authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have launched a peace process in the 12 districts placed under emergency on October 11, enlisting tribal elders and jirgas to engage militants and persuade them to leave. The task has been given to the 48-member Area Representatives and Development Council (ARDC), whose members will open talks in their districts in line with tribal custom.
ARDC chairman Shaukatullah Khan, a former governor, and the governor's adviser on information, Mehmood Jan Babar, confirmed the move. "The ARDC members will enlist support from jirgas, tribal elders and local people so that armed groups may be convinced to voluntarily evacuate," Khan said.
Babar said the ARDC member for each district would liaise with local jirgas, elders and residents, and that the process would move forward through local contacts and consultation.
The districts are Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, North Waziristan, Upper South Waziristan and Lower South Waziristan. The federal government declared the emergency on October 11, a joint sitting of Parliament endorsed it on October 15, and the council was notified on October 17.
The council is meant to bring local representatives into law and order, development and public grievances. Khan said development would be its first priority, as its name suggests, but added that restoring peace was also essential and would need a separate strategy rooted in tribal traditions.