Early Saturday morning, traders, transporters, political activists and students blocked the Karakoram Highway. PHOTO: EXPRESS
/FILE
Protests against the transfer of Mansehra DPO Abdul Ghafoor Afridi continued for the fifth consecutive day as police and demonstrators engaged in a game of cat and mouse throughout Saturday.
The protests began before the government issued transfer orders on Friday for DI Khan DPO Khurram Rasheed to move to Mansehra and take charge from DPO Afridi.
Early Saturday morning, traders, transporters, political activists and students blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) at Government Commerce College, Punjab Chowk and several other points, suspending the traffic intermittently till afternoon.
The day started with a demonstration by college students who blocked the KKH near Ghazikot Township after the district administration closed educational institutions for “an indefinite period”.
Escalating violence
Protesting students shouted slogans against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and its coalition partner Qaumi Watan Party. Not limiting themselves to sloganeering, the protestors proceeded to damage windscreens of cars which attempted to bypass the demonstration.
Though the police succeeded in clearing the road, it was short-lived. The demonstrators – joined by transporters, traders, party workers and members of an action committee formed to deal with the transfer – descended again, bringing traffic to a grinding halt near Government Commerce College and then later at Punjab Chowk.
Similar rallies cropped up across various areas including Shinkiari, Baffa, Darband and Balakot.
Irked by what they alleged to be “poor media coverage” of the DPO transfer issue, a group of youth made matters worse by vandalising press club premises on late Friday evening, breaking furniture. Journalists present attempted to calm down the mob which was equipped with bottles of petrol, aiming to set fire to the building.
Meanwhile, the Action Committee set up to protest the transfer of DPO Afridi was visited by party representatives and lawyers, who vowed to continue taking to the streets until the transfer order was revoked.
The committee announced a complete strike across the district on October 13 – the day Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak was expected to visit. However, it is now expected the provincial government will postpone the CM’s visit to a later date.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2013.
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