Janni Khels continue their sit-in outside Bannu city

Janni Khel tribesmen on Thursday continued their sit-in near Baran Pul for the second day just outside the Bannu city as police and security forces had sealed the entire cantonment and thousands of policemen had been deployed to thwart any attempt on the part of tribesmen to enter the city.

Thousands of protesting tribesmen had reached the area on the first leg of their march to Islamabad on Wednesday and started a sit-in after clashes with police in which one tribesman was killed and dozens more were injured. They are carrying with them tents, food, vehicles and all other necessities required for a long march to Islamabad. Hundreds of people of the surrounding villages are coming to show their solidarity with the protesters.

An official told The Express Tribune that several rounds of negotiations between the district administration and the protesting tribesmen failed to yield results as the tribesmen were demanding practical steps promised in the previous agreement including dismantling of local militant groups who were creating law and order situation in the area.

“The tribesmen are highly enraged due to police firing at the mob which killed one man and injured dozens others. They blamed that they were peaceful but police suddenly started firing at them in order to disperse them and stop their long march to Islamabad,” said local residents, adding that police not only fired at them but also looted their vehicles full of food items.

“Provincial Minister Transport Malik Shah Muhammad Khan, Janni Khel and Bakka Khel tribesmen held several rounds of talks but all these rounds failed to end the deadlock,” they said, adding that as a last resort Janni Khel tribesmen formed a 25-member Jirga to negotiate the matter with the authorities but after several hours of talks there was no progress as the authorities were not willing to ensure that the previous agreement with the Janni Khels will be honoured.

It is worth mentioning here that Janni Khels are protesting for the past 25 days against the killing of their slain leader Malik Naseeb Khan along with his coffin. They staged a sit-in for 23 days outside a local police station and when their demands were not accepted, they decided to march to Islamabad with the coffin. On Wednesday they started their march but the district administration had blocked all roads which led to clashes.

On Thursday, the 25-member Jirga of tribal elders tried to negotiate with authorities. The negotiations started around 2 o’clock in the afternoon and continued in the evening till the filing of this report. Earlier several rounds of discussions failed to produce results.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2021.