Pakistan

Parachinaris await next broken promise

Enraged youth fed up with government apathy demand reopening of road.

Express May 10, 2011

Frustrated by lawmakers and politicians’ apathy and enraged by the negligence and indifference of the government and security apparatus, scores of youth and children from Parachinar held a protest march on Monday against the continuing siege of their town and killings of innocent commuters by militants.

Carrying coffins bearing the names of people brutally killed by extremists on their shoulders, the protesters marched from National Press Club to parliament house where the lower house was in session. The most noticeable thing in the rally, held on the 19th consecutive day of their peaceful protest, was the sight of young children wearing white shrouds. According to a press release issued on Monday by the youth of Parachinar, all the protesters were demanding was for the government to clear and open the Thal-Parachinar Road, which has been blocked for the last four years, and the continuing blockage of the road has created a plethora of problems for the people of the area.

The protesters were chanting slogans against Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who had promised to re-open the blocked road by April 27, but after almost two weeks, the road remains blocked and not a single one of the promised security measures promised by Malik have been followed through.

Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen Deputy Secretary and a scholar Ameen Shaheedi addressed the protesters, saying, “An area where 500,000 people reside cannot be closed off for such a long time by any militant terrorist group. If supplies cannot reach there and the people cannot travel safely, the government has to take serious concern of the matter.” The Chairman of Youth of Parachinar Ali Shah Kazmi led the rally to Parliament House.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (14)

Abbas | 12 years ago | Reply if the govt can't provide life security to their citizen the must resign it.,,,,,,,

Ali jawad Turi | 12 years ago | Reply Dear brothers we are liveing from four years to out side from Parachinar, and Haqani Taliban with suport our national security Agancy ISI pakistan Blocked Tall Parachinar road and we also Pakistani people. Shime for mother fuker ISI pakistan and we are hate them, if ISI doing in FATA Parachinar, and in Balochistan people how they treet us if they treet in Kracho ,Lahor , then socalled media will expose but for us silant from four years on the order of ISPR, shime for all Pakistanis and shime for all securty forces. If pakistanis now also don't feel our pain, then we want for our sefty United nation forces. Think and please think all pakistanis about us sereicly Please.

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Imran | 12 years ago | Reply Express Tribune is very careful in describing the ones laying siege of Parachinar: It does not call them the Taliban, rather "extremists". But I would not hold them responsible. Once a group of people is deserted by the state, why should media care?

turidoc | 12 years ago | Reply Soon community of nations will start demands for dismantling nukes, as it can't be left to a country where human rights abuses are order of the day, who can't protect their own people. 4 yrs is such a long period that the people of kurram are denied every kind of access to the mainland.

Adeel | 12 years ago | Reply Where is the law in this country????

Iftikhar-ur-Rehman | 12 years ago | Reply Why are our valiant soldiers & their supreme commander silent over the siege of Parachinar by the terrorists. This has gone on for too long now.

Farooq | 12 years ago | Reply Great work by ET for highlighting these sensitive but ignored issues - matter of life and death for thousands but a non-issue for the government officials and decision-makers. If Americans kill us then we protest, our ghariat jag uthti hein... but when our own people keeping killing the innocents, it is an issue to be dealt later .... "...Society can survive with kufr (infidelity), but not injustice”. ... God help us and forgive us as a nation.

muhammad farhan aziz | 12 years ago | Reply @abdul sami: saudia doesn't allow women to drive.It treats by law its women as animals who are the personal property of their fathers,brothers & husbands.Saudi women aren't allowed to leave their house without the "permission" of their majazi khudas.Saudi women can't work,have careers if men are also working in those offices.The saudi women have been made completely dependent & at the mercy of the saudi men,to abuse as they like. the iranians also after the islamic revolution forced women to wear the black chadors & practise stoning of women which their ministers have defended repeatedly at various forums.They have a special police force which checks whether the women are wearing what they think is the right clothing etc. Both these countries are governed by religion & both are places of severe oppression,miogyny & homophobia.

Asad | 12 years ago | Reply I would like to thank ET for publishing this news, though the severity of issue is beyond what has been published in the media. There was a silent massacare which didn't get much place in the media. Sad to see we have so much rubbish bollywood news to mention but not the plight of our own people

abdul sami | 12 years ago | Reply Great,iran & saudi arabia fighting their war on our soil through their proxies.As if the autocratic theocracies in their own countries weren't enough now their hatred of each other is causing death & destruction in our land. Why doesn't our media expose the religious parties,religious figures,madrassas receiving funding from iran & saudia?? Both of them have brutal,uncivilised women oppressive regimes in their own countries & now they want to impose their hatefilled,intoerant,misogynistic,homophobic beliefs & values on us !!!

BM | 12 years ago | Reply I am surprised how little media coverage this important issue gets. It is inhuman how we are treating our brothers and sisters in Parachinar, just because of certain sectarian and strategic interests. These people have suffered immeasurably in the last 4 years, maybe the most for any group within Pakistan. What can one say about a government/army that seems more interested in safeguarding foreign fighters over our own people. I would like to add my voice to all those protesting for the last 2 weeks in Islamabad. Anyone listening ?

muhammad ashraf | 12 years ago | Reply All this trouble because of the state allowing religion to interfere in every aspect of life in our country.These religious fundoos have now got dozens of their tv channels where they spread their misogynistic,obscurantist,regressive thinking into the mass public. When our weak govt. changed the name of our country from jinnah's 'republic of pakistan' to the 'ISLAMIC republic of pakistan' the state sent out a clear signal to the religious fanatics that we are scared of anyone with a beard & you people can spread your bigotry & hate as much as you want. then iran & saudia funded their proxies over here & we see these mazhabi parties with their coffers flowing with persian & arabian funding & we have these sectarian wars with my sect is better than your sect. The only way to save pakistan is to separate mosque & state.As long as we don't have a secular constitution & secular laws we will continue to have a society obsessed with proving my sect is better than your sect.

Faraz | 12 years ago | Reply Shame on the government for not taking any action.

faraz | 12 years ago | Reply Apparently our sovereignty and national honour isnt voilated by closure of Thar Parachinar road. No sit-in for these poor ones.

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