MIRAMSHAH, April 7: Hundreds of armed tribesmen took out a demonstration in Mirali bazaar on Friday in protest against the alleged killing of civilians by security forces and continued presence of army checkposts in the North Waziristan Agency.
The protesters belonging to the Ahmadzai Wazir, Dawar and Utmenzai tribes called for immediate withdrawal of troops from the tribal region and their redeployment along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border so that they could curtail the movement of militants from the across the border.
Most of the protesters were carrying weapons in defiance of a blanket ban on the exhibition of arms. The authorities had imposed the ban on display and trade of arms and ammunition when they recently clamped curfew on Mirali town.
The protesters chanted slogans against the government and demanded withdrawal of troops from checkposts set up in different areas of the agency.
Tribal elders and clerics, including Maulvi Gul Baz, Maulvi Abdur Rehman, Maulvi Saleem Gul, and others also spoke on the occasion.
They expressed concern over the ongoing operation in the tribal region and said that army troops were not ignorant of tribal customs and traditions.
They advised the government to deploy troops along the border to stop the “infiltration of anti-state elements from a neighbouring country”.
“Although we are patriotic citizens, the army has launched an operation here against us at the behest of the United States,” one of the speakers said.
The protesters rejected the ban on display of weapons in the agency and said that tribesmen had kept arms to secure the country’s border and for their personal security.
AP adds: An uneasy calm prevailed on Friday in the tribal region where fighting earlier this week between security forces and suspected pro-Taliban militants left 43 militants dead, residents said.
Friday marked the first time in the past 24 hours that the sound of gunshots hadn’t reverberated around North Waziristan, said tribal elder Subhan Allah.
Elders were to meet later on Friday to discuss how military operations could be avoided in future, he said.
In Mirali, meanwhile, tribal elder Abdul Rahman condemned the military operation and said the army had killed “innocent people”.
“We demand that the army leave our areas quickly,” Mr Rahman told a crowd that officials and locals estimated at 10,000 or more. “It should also close its security posts in the region.”
