Abbottabad firing incident: Tehreek Suba Hazara to request Khattak to order registration of FIR

The CM had earlier said he would issue such orders if approached.

ABBOTABAD: Chief of Tehreek Suba Hazara (TSH) Sardar Haider Zaman Baba has said that his party would move an application to the Chief Minister Pervez Khattak’s office requesting him to order the registration of an FIR of the 2010 Abbottabad firing incident. On April 12 of that year police had allegedly opened fire at protesters, killing seven pro-Hazara activists.

Earlier, CM Khattak had told journalists during a talk at the residence of provincial information minister Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani that he would order the registration of an FIR if anyone approaches the office.

At the meeting, journalists had criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for advocating a probe into the Model Town, Lahore incident, but failing to account for the casualties in the Abbottabad firing incident on April 12, 2010.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, TSH chief Baba lauded the chief minister’s remarks. He added the party was drafting the request and would send it to the CM’s office within the next couple of days.

Backlash

In 2010, after the 18th Amendment was passed, the province was renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This sparked agitation within the predominantly Hindko-speaking Hazara division. Workers of political parties took to the streets. The police allegedly resorted to firing which resulted in the deaths of seven pro-Hazara workers and injuries to over 200 people.

Since then, the Tehreek Suba Hazara Party and Hazara Qaumi Mahaz have been demanding the registration of criminal cases against the police officers, officials and administrative machinery.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2014.