KKH blocked in Kohistan after man killed in FC firing

KOHISTAN: Irate protesters blocked the Karakoram Highway on Saturday in protest against the “unjust behaviour” of some Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, who first manhandled a taxi driver in Kohistan’s Komila bazaar and later resorted to areal firing that killed a by-stander on Saturday.



An official of Kohistan police said some FC personnel riding an ambulance were on their way to Dasu when their vehicle, which had got stuck in a traffic jam in Komila bazaar, was accidentally hit by a taxi.

He said the FC personnel – four to five in number – publicly thrashed the taxi driver, later identified as Hazrat Khan, and then left him on the road while also leaving behind their ambulance in the middle of the road.

“After about 30 minutes, over 20 FC men armed with official rifles reached Komila bazaar and resorted to aerial firing. Some of the bullets, however, hit a private bank’s guard Umar Farooq, who was standing on the footpath like other spectators,” he said.



After the incident, the official said, the FC men fled the scene. However, the shopkeepers of the area and villagers picked up Farooq’s body and later blocked the busy Karakorum Highway (KKH) in protest, suspending traffic on both side of the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Mansehra.

The traders, who ordered the shutters down, protested by placing Farooq’s body on the road. They chanted slogans against the FC and demanded registration of an FIR against the culprits. Later, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s MPA Abdul Sattar Khan also reached the site and joined protesters.



The protesters did not clear the road till 5:00 pm despite negotiations with DSP headquarters Abrar Khan and warned they would keep the road blocked until a criminal case registered against the FC men.

When contacted, Hazara DIG Saeed Khan Wazir confirmed the report, adding that he has ordered the police to register a case against the FC men responsible for opening fire. However, the DSP said arrests could not be made as the alleged murderers had not been identified.

When the FC men were resorting to fire in the crowded bazaar, someone had captured the live scene and made it viral on social media. The footage was also shared with some private TV channels.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2016.