Protest: Locals express anger at Afghan Taliban infiltration

People from Chitral and Dir demanded more border security and the return of abducted children.

PESHAWAR:

The residents of Chitral here on Tuesday staged a protest against the repeated infiltration of Afghan Taliban into the border areas of Chitral and Dir districts here on Tuesday. They urged the government to take cogent measures to secure the border.

The protestors, led by Asmat Chitral, were holding placards and banners inscribed with different slogans, demanding immediate measures for the protection of the Pak-Afghan border deployment of FC troops and the release of abducted children.  They strongly condemned the Afghan Taliban’s recent kidnapping of 30 children from Bajaur Agency.

They claimed that the valiant people of Chitral and Dir will stand against the Afghan Taliban if their region was attacked in the future and that they will hold the Afghan Government responsible for this.

The protestors said that the Afghan authorities and NATO forces have completely failed to stop the infiltration of Afghan Taliban, which has led to the killings of innocent people in their area.

They urged the Pakistan government to take up the issue with Afghan authorities through diplomatic channels so that such incidents could be avoided in the future. They also demanded the safe release of 30 abducted children after they had mistakenly crossed into Afghanistan from Bajaur Agency on Eid.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2011.