Collective responsibility: Jirga held to discuss Jandola Bazaar closure

Bhittani tribe tasked with producing the accused behind the January 8 attack.

DI KHAN:

The Bhittani tribe is exasperated over the political administration’s decision to close Jandola Bazaar following an attack on the head of a peace committee.

On January 8, unidentified men targeted peace committee head Nasrullah Bhittani in a remote-controlled blast in Jandola Bazaar. Nasrullah escaped unhurt, but since then the Political Administration has sealed the market under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). The tribe has been tasked with producing the accused behind.

In a jirga held by the tribe in FR Tank on Monday, tribesmen said the closure was unfair. Jirga member Malik Kamran Khan said they have told the political administration that they are not in a position to catch the accused.

“There are bomb blasts everywhere in Pakistan, but no markets are closed because of it. This is unjust,” he said, adding that it is the responsibility of the government and law enforcement agencies to arrest criminals.

Malik Rifathullah, another tribesman, said that all shops have been closed and business activities halted, which is creating problems for them. “We have nothing to do with the blast,” he said and appealed to the government to reopen the market.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2013.