Tribesmen clash with police en route to capital

One killed, dozens injured as Janni Khel protesters begin march

BANNU:

At least one man was killed and nine vehicles were destroyed including a police van when thousands of Janni Khel tribesmen and police clashed at Tochi River Bridge in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa (K-P) on Wednesday.

On the 24th day of their protest, the Janni Khel tribesmen started a long march to Islamabad. But the authorities were determined not to allow them entry into Bannu city on the first leg of their march and erected barricades at Tochi Bridge.

Thousands of the tribesmen tried to remove the barriers which led to clashes between policemen and the protesting mob, forcing police to fire shots into the air. One of the tribesmen was killed in the firing while at least a dozen policemen also sustained injuries.

The highly charged tribesmen torched a police van to which police responded in kind, destroying at least eight vehicles of the tribesmen.

“The authorities are demanding just one thing, bury the dead body of Malik Naseeb Khan, who was killed 24 days ago by unidentified people, and abandon the plans to march on Islamabad,” said a local resident while talking to The Express Tribune.

Read more: 68 injured as rioting protesters clash with police

“Hundreds of policemen have been deployed and all the roads are blocked by them which led to clashes,” he said.

The district administration claimed that one police van had been set on fire by the protesters. They also hurled stones at policemen in which 12 cops sustained injuries. They declined to comment on the matter that a tribesman had been killed in police firing.

“We have arrested at least 20 of them and their eight vehicles have also been destroyed completely. Their leaders have been invited for negotiations,” said an official.

Janni Khel is a former tribal region (FR Bannu) which is now part of Bannu district of K-P after the merger. The protests started when in March four youngsters were kidnapped and killed by local militants. Malik Naseeb Khan was one of the masterminds of the three weeks long sit-in outside the local police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2021.