Spreading lawlessness: Three bodies found, bereaved relatives stage protest

HANGU:

Three bodies were found from separate areas of Hangu district on Monday, after which family members of the deceased staged a protest against the district administration and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits.

Hangu District Police Officer (DPO) Iftikhar Ahmad told The Express Tribune the bullet-riddled bodies of two brothers, Tahir Hasan and Aleem Hasan of Gandi Tal in Orakzai Agency, were found from Babar Mela. He added another body, of Rehmanullah, was found near Shama Hotel. Rehmanullah belonged to the Sheikhan tribe of Orakzai Agency.

Ahmad said the deceased were shifted to District Headquarters Hospital for post mortem. Later, elders of the local peace committee along with a large number of protesters took the bodies and protested on GT Road, blocking all traffic on the thoroughfare.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government for failing to maintain peace in the area. Zohar Hussain, a member of the peace committee, addressed the demonstrators on the occasion and demanded the assailants be arrested within 24 hours.

Former MNA Ibn-e-Ali told journalists such incidents have now become the order of the day. He reiterated the district administration and police had failed to tackle the situation.

Ali termed the incident an act of terrorism and claimed the victims’ families had no personal disputes. He added the two slain brothers had gone to work in their fields early morning when they were killed.

Ali also dubbed the incident a conspiracy to sabotage peace in the district ahead of Muharram. Rejecting the idea that the murders were targeted sectarian attacks, Ali blamed a ‘third force’ and said Shias and Sunnis were not involved.

The former lawmaker warned of intensifying the protests if the culprits are not apprehended within 24 hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2013.