Kuki Khel tribal elders hold jirga with political administration officials. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The day after a teenage girl was allegedly killed during a raid, residents of Khyber Agency held a jirga demanding that security forces protect civilian lives while conducting military operations against militants.
Tribal elders of the Kuki Khel held a jirga met officials of the political administration on Wednesday, where locals stressed on the need to protect the honour and dignity of tribesmen in the ongoing offensive.
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly killed during a raid by security forces in Ghundi Abdalkhel area of Jamrud tehsil day earlier. Security forces, however, denied any incident of a girl being killed.
A man identified as Tail Akber was arrested over his links with a banned outfit in the operation. Officials said they conducted the raid on the house of the accused after a tip-off about his links with some banned outfits.
Kuki Khel tribesmen appealed to the governor to take necessary measures to protect them, adding that legal action should be taken against those involved in the murder.
Tribesmen said they will continue their protest until they are provided justice. They have also convened a jirga today (Thursday) to chalk out their future line of action.
A political administration official Asmatullah Wazir told The Express Tribune that the issue will be taken up with senior officials and the administration is trying to ensure that no such incident happens again.
“We came out of our house after hearing gunshots and thought that there is a robbery in the neighbourhood,” said resident Zarghon Shah. He added that they learnt about the raid in the morning.
Shah said that the locals have supported the government for the restoration of peace in the agency and will continue to do so in the future as well.
Meanwhile, two security personnel were injured in a roadside bomb blast on Tuesday when they were travelling from Bara tehsil to the Jansi fort. The wounded men were identified as Noman Ahmed and Naik Shahman Gul.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 27th, 2012.
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