Thousands of tribesmen on Sunday staged a protest demonstration against the increasing lawlessness in Khyber tribal district.
The protest dubbed Khyber Peace March was attended by activists of all political parties, social workers and tribal elders in large number. The march started from Dogra Chowk and ended at Bara Bazaar. In Bara Bazaar the march turned into a large rally.
The protestors demanded that the government take notice of target killing incidents and terrorism taking place in the area and establish order.
They said that they stand united with the government to maintain peace in the area and no one will be allowed to cause unrest in the district.
Addressing the protest, a tribal elder Malik Waris Khan said that tribesmen were peaceful people and they have suffered greatly in the past one decade and could not allow a repeat of it.
“We saw our homes being destroyed which was really painful. We want to live peaceful lives like the people of Islamabad, Punjab and Sindh,” he said, adding that government should work for establishing lasting peace in the tribal district. Momin Khan Afridi of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) said that they could not see their younger generations to be ruined in any war.
“Our education institutes are in ruins, economy in bad shape, houses bombed and thousands of our people are displaced. We can’t stand extortion calls and targeted attacks anymore,” he said. We demand of the state to give us a peaceful environment, he said.
Another leader Naseeb Gul Afridi said that the march was evidence that the people of the district were united and aware of the danger posed by militancy and terrorism.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 5th, 2022.
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