Lakki, Mohmand erupt in anti-terror protests

On sixth straight day of rallies, participants accuse govt of inaction

LAKKI MARWAT/ MOHMAND:

Tens of thousands of locals on Sunday took to the streets across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on the sixth consecutive day to protest against the Peshawar Police Lines attack and increasing lawlessness.

A large protest rally was held in Lakki Marwat district in which thousands participated.

The participants claimed that after the recent terrorist attacks in the district all the well-off people had fled to either Peshawar or Islamabad but the poor people could not afford migration to Punjab and it is the responsibility of the state to provide them protection.

“Terrorism has reared its ugly head once again because of the policies of the government which started negotiations with TTP in Afghanistan and brought them back to Pakistan,” they said, adding that the Pashtun genocide for dollars should end now.

The rally had been organized by civil society and it was led by Engineer Ihsan. The rally started at Sheen Bagh Chowk and the participants marched towards Kargil Chowk where thousands of people converged.

Addressing the participants, Dr Iqbal said that for the past five months the law and order situation has deteriorated to new low and locals were unable to step out of their homes after nightfall in Lakki Marwat.

“It is time to go out of our comfort zones and protest against terrorism otherwise the government would go for an operation against terrorism which will displace thousands. We will not support such a thing,” he said.

Iqbal said that mobile internet was disconnected for the past week and it should be restored immediately because it had made the lives of the local residents miserable.

“All the former MNAs and MPAs as well as rich people have fled to Islamabad and today no one is with us in this protest,” he said.

Mohmand protest

Thousands staged a protest demonstration in the Mohmand tribal district too against lawlessness. The call for protest had been given by the alliance of political parties against the Peshawar atrocity and increasing incidents of terrorism.

Ex-education minister Sardar Hussain Babak and PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen as well as workers of other political parties attended the protest.

The participants said that Pakhthun land had been turned into a battleground for a proxy war which should stop now because it is no more acceptable to the people of K-P and tribal districts.

“We cannot afford another round of terrorism in our land as the decade-long militancy left the local economy in ruins and displaced thousands of families,” they said.

They shouted slogans against terrorism and said that under no circumstances would the locals allow return of the terrorists in the district.

They said that government had entered into negotiations with the TTP and promised them resettlement in tribal areas so that they could impose their violent ideology on the tribesmen “but no such thing would be tolerated”.

It may be mentioned here that since the Police Lines attack on January 30, families of the victims as well as civil society and political parties are protesting on a daily basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2023.