Troops kill man in Miramshah; militants mount new attacks
By Pazir Gul
MIRAMSHAH, March 10: Security forces have killed a man said to be mentally retarded and wounded a labourer in Miramshah bazaar in the volatile North Waziristan Agency during curfew hours, sources said.
Area residents said that troops opened fire on the man in the main bazaar on Thursday. As a result, the man reported to be mentally deranged died on the spot. The deceased could not be identified.
Referring to another incident, witnesses said paramilitary forces fired at and injured the labourers at Razmak bus stand of the troubled town on Friday for violating curfew.
Authorities imposed a 20-hour daily curfew in the area with relaxation from 12pm to 4pm after fierce clashes between the troops and local Taliban on Saturday.
Sources said that militants had renewed attacks against security forces in which one ‘tribal security personnel’ was killed and two others were wounded on Thursday night. They said that attack was carried out near Esha checkpost.
Meanwhile, hundreds of displaced families have started returning to their houses in Miramshah and its surrounding areas, according to witnesses.
They said that troops had opened Esha checkpost for traffic. The road between Mirali and Miramshah was closed after the clashes.
However, the Miramshah town is still without electricity and drinking water and government offices, hospitals and schools remain closed in the area.
The agency’s main hospital has been badly damaged in the clashes and doctors and other staff have left the area, leaving the patients with no option but to travel to Bannu for treatment.
The Inter Services Public Relations said in a press release on Friday that security forces had seized caches of arms and ammunition in Miramshah and its surrounding areas. The press release said that troops had recovered mortars, rockets, grenades, fuses, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, commando uniform, militants training material and communication gadgets.
Agencies add: Unidentified miscreants blew up a basic health unit in Gulab Khan Kot, Murdar Algad village, Ladha tehsil, South Waziristan Agency, on Thursday night.
Four explosive devices were planted at the BHU that exploded and destroyed the main building and residential quarters of the BHU. Later, rockets were fired on the devastated health facility from the nearby hills.
The political administration has confirmed the incident.
In Miramshah, announcements made by a military convoy on loudspeaker in Pashto language accused Indian agents of infiltration in the tribal region.
“The announcements …… said: Indian agents have infiltrated into this region. They want to inflict damage on the government, the army and you. Be aware of them and help us against them,” BBC’s Haroon Rashid, giving eyewitness account of the battle for Waziristan, said.
