K & P

Partial strike in Peshawar as opposition protests over LG rigging

Tripartite alliance activists gathering at different parts of the city to hold a joint rally

Sohail Khattak June 10, 2015

PHOTO: PPI

PESHAWAR: The tripartite alliance of the Awami National Party (ANP), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is holding a strike across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) against the alleged rigging and mismanagement in local bodies elections.

PHOTO: UMER FAROOQ/THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

The alliance has demanded the provincial government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) along with its allies Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP) to quit the government and conduct free and fair general elections and local government elections under a caretaker government.

Read: Confrontation course? Peshawar likely to shut down over LG rigging today

The political activists of the tripartite alliance have started flocking at different spots in the city from where they will gather to hold a joint rally.

PHOTO: SOHAIL KHATTAK/THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Activists in the Saddar area took to loudspeakers and ordered businessmen to close down their shops and businesses.

Our correspondent Baseer Qalandar reported that former K-P minister Aqil Shah, ANP General Secretary Mian Iftikhar, JUI-F's Arbab Farooq Jan led the protest on Saddar Road and addressed a gathering there.

Speaking to Express News via phone later on, ANP leader Abdul Jalil Khan denied that ANP workers forced merchants to shut shops down, adding that the protest is "peaceful".

"Our workers are carrying flags, not sticks," he said, adding that shopkeepers were "cooperating" with them.

Our correspondent Umer Farooq reports that Khyber Bazaar remains open despite strike call.

PHOTO: UMER FAROOQ/THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Read: Pre-arrest bail of PTI activists cancelled

PHOTO: UMER FAROOQ/THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Our correspondent Aminah Khan reports that there is a massive traffic jam on University Road. Further, party activists can be seen outside restaurants and shops.

PHOTO: AMINAH KHAN/THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Addressing the media later during the day, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar claimed that their protest was "peaceful".

When asked by media personnel about the violence that erupted during the rally, Iftikhar said that it was for fair reason.

"If a peaceful rally is passing by and a shopkeeper hurls abuses, what do you expect the rally to do," he said.

Following the moot held at the Chief Minister House on Tuesday to parlay talks into actionable results, the government sent a delegation comprising cabinet members Inayatullah Khan, Shahram Khan Tarakai, Atif Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani to Bacha Khan Markaz late in the evening, to convince Awami National Party, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl to call the protest off.

However, negotiations failed. Talking to the media, alliance president Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the opposition is prepared to continue sit-ins for months at length.

Read: Tripartite alliance opts out of govt APC today

Protest route

PK-I – Government College Chowk

PK-II – Chowk Yadgar

PK-III – Namak Mandi and Qissa Khwani Bazaar

PK-IV –Fawara Chowk

PK-V and PK-VI – University Road

PK-VII – Warsak Road

PK-VIII – Charsadda Road and Bacha Khan Chowk

PK-IX – Dalazak Road

PK-X and PK-XI – Kohat Road and Dabgari Garden

COMMENTS (20)

joker | 9 years ago | Reply @Adnan Siddiqi: Bro, if you ever see me at a pmln rally, I give you premissions to break my legs. The pain of that will be less then listening to nalaik Sharif blathering on about roads, bullet trains and how he stood up to musharaf and saved democracy!

Abid | 9 years ago | Reply ET seems to be the coordinator of the strike...never saw so much details of a strike before....hahaha....Route 1 2 3 4.....wow!!! By the way ANP won 6 seats out of 80 in Peshawar...tells a lot about their popularity.

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Ranjha | 9 years ago | Reply @Naan Siddiqi: This is for you: The mind of a bigot it like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it contracts!

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply @Waseem Sarwar: Guilty as charged! But one can never have an intellectual conversation when you got deadbeats like @Ranjha and @raider around.

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply @joker: Childish rant that mirrors your screen name, stay that way. Why hold a jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan when you can win an election even without it? Besides, even someone like Rent-a-Mullah Padri has hold a massive jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan in 2013.....& what exactly does that mean? Remind me to feed you a couple of Qeemay walay naans and even someone like you would be more than willing to "stand around and listen to the ramblings of Nawaz Sharif." :D

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply @raider: Bro, time never remains the same. If Nawaz Sharif was manhandled by the Interior Minister back in 2007, don't forget that a certain Niazi was viciously beaten by IJT students at Punjab University in 2006. A lot has changed since then. As for the emerging youth, you take drugs, music and chicks out of the equation and we'll see what this youth (ia) stand up to. It's very easy to shut down Karachi. MQM has been doing it for ages. Big deal that certain terrorists and fasadis did this for a few hours late last year.

raider | 9 years ago | Reply @Adnan Siddiqi: then you are acquainted "anarchists" well, would they allow any one to attack banigala, really masses surge in the streets on pmln call as they surged when nawaz butt arrived in 2007 and was badly handled by that time interior minster, only pti has street power due to emerging youth and having had successfully seized city like Karachi

joker | 9 years ago | Reply @Adnan Siddiqi: LOL. typical PMLN supporter logic....protest is in KPK, but thinking of storming a house in Islamabad. We'll take you seriously after you hold a jalsa at minar-i-pakistan that doesn't involve patwaris, teachers and students being forced to stand around and listen to the ramblings of nalaik sharif.

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply While I can see your discomfort, I don't see a reason to get into debate with people like you. There is a word reserved for you people, I hope you are well aware of that.

UN | 9 years ago | Reply Haha @ Naan Siddiqi.. A true description of Noon league supporter. I believe NS media team has hired some unemployed individuals to promote their agenda on online forums 24/7. He seems as smart as NS himself.

Waseem Sarwar | 9 years ago | Reply @Adnan Siddiqi: you, my friend, are funny. :D More jokes please.

Ranjha | 9 years ago | Reply @Naan Siddiqi: Amazingly stupid comment -- you never fail to disappoint! Now share some pearls of wisdom on the bags tgat opened but alas no Form 15 were found. Do you happen to have a few under your pillow?

PMLN UK | 9 years ago | Reply @Adnan Siddiqi: But bro, the optics are making the protest look like a joke :( Can we not get PMLN to join the strike? Please do something...otherwise KPK will be lost forever!

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply @Waseem Sarwar: Trust me friend, if PML-N was behind this protest - it can have it's worker and cadre storm Banigala.

Waseem Sarwar | 9 years ago | Reply PTI should have donated few dozen people for the sake of strike. I can't stop laughing watching 30,40 people doing a strike. :D PMLN should spend more money next time. :)

Adnan Siddiqi | 9 years ago | Reply @shahid: Pot calling the kettle black. At least this alliance never claimed to bring out 1 million people and 100,000 motorcycles on the streets of Peshawar :D It's not the numbers buddy boy but the optics. Niazi's subversive activities in Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi during dharna days did not fare any better either, in terms of manpower. It's the media coverage that matters. All the rest is colored bubbles. @Layman, If the federal government is not prosecuting PPP, ANP or JUI (F) for graft and corruption; might I ask what in the cotton picking world is PTI doing in KPK with regard to investigating the previous "Easy Load" coalition government of ANP/PPP? How many cases have been investigated by KPK authorities till date? How many graft cases have been sent to courts against the functionaries of the past government?

shahid | 9 years ago | Reply Either my way or the highway. This is what you wrote yesterday. Well, we've seen Highway' today :). How many were there? 40 people from 3 parties? Real bad time for promoters.

OSD | 9 years ago | Reply Waah waah.. Karma!

K Alam | 9 years ago | Reply Every body has the right to hold peaceful protests. But in the present case, when the government has announced to hold inquiry, willing to find a way out, the protesting parties have lost moral authority. And it appears they will continue to protest so as to discredit the whole LG exercise in KPK.

Layman | 9 years ago | Reply They are acting as hired mercenaries for federal government, PML N has agreed not to send or investigate any corruption cases in NAB against ANP, Maulana and zardari in return of spreading anarchy and chaos, they them self didn't conducted any LB elections in decades, they should be thankful to PIT specially ANP and PPP that due to PTI government they had a peaceful environment for campaign otherwise they were not able to come out of there burrows in general elections and that after there own 5 years of government, PTI has openly asked to conduct the elections again under army supervision, so what is this rant about, they all know if PTI government successful complete its 5 years it would be the end of there status co politics.

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