ISLAMABAD, 23 January 2006 — An opposition parliamentary delegation will visit Bajaur Agency to meet relatives of those killed in a US missile strike. The announcement was made by the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Maulana Fazalur Rehman at a news conference here yesterday. Present at the news conference were chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmad, chief of Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan and parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N) Chaudhry Nisar Ali.
Fazalur Rehman denounced the Bush administration for failing to apologize to the Pakistani government “for its barbaric action against the people of Bajaur Agency.” He also blasted the government for not showing the bodies to the media and banning the entry of journalists into the area.
Imran Khan questioned the basis of the claim identifying those killed in the attack as belonging to Al-Qaeda and called it an act against innocent citizens of Bajaur Agency.
Chaudhry Nisar said: “We have planned a visit to the area to find the facts.”
Qazi Hussain Ahmad said the delegation would leave Peshawar with “our party men and visit Bajaur to offer our condolences and express solidarity with the people.”
He said it was unfortunate that despite being an ally of the Bush administration, the Pakistani government could not secure an apology or even words of sympathy from Washington over the attack that resulted in the deaths of women and children.
Some 5,000 demonstrators assembled on a dry riverbed in a mountain market town near the site of the Jan. 13 attack. Shouting “Long live Osama Bin Laden!” and “Death to America!” they also burned effigies of US President George W. Bush.
An official said authorities had arrested a suspected militant with links to Al-Qaeda operatives that were targeted the attack. The man, who was not identified, was picked up in Damadola village, the remote hamlet where the US missiles struck.
