PESHAWAR, Nov 25: Members of local Shia community have demanded judicial probe into Muharram violence in Kohat and Hangu districts for strict action against culprits.

Provincial Secretary General of Tehreek Nifaz-i-Fiqa Jafria (TNFJ) Mukhtar Ali Bangash told reporters at Peshawar Press Club on Monday that sectarian violence in Kohat, Hangu and other parts of the country had exposed the government and law-enforcement agencies’ inefficiency.

He said the local administration seemed to be helpless before troublemakers, which had ransacked shops, mosques and other properties, belonging to Shia community in the sensitive districts.

Mr Bangash said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had failed to provide adequate security to the religious minorities, especially Shias in Kohat. He condemned the growing sectarian violence and described it a conspiracy to pit one sect against the other.

The TNFJ secretary general said the people from all sects had voted Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf to power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the centre for restoring peace and ensuring socioeconomic stability.

He, however, said the governments had failed to control law and order situation.

Accompanied by provincial TNFJ leaders Sardar Ali Qazalbash, Imtiaz Hussain Bangash and Agha Nawaz Kayani, he said terrorists had been given a freehand to carry out activities wherever they wanted but the law-enforcement agencies were not taking serious action against them at least to foil their nefarious activities.

He said violence in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Kohat was a conspiracy against the country’s solidarity and integrity and therefore, the government should take strict action those responsible for it.

The TNFJ leader also demanded special compensation for families of the violence victims and protection of Shias’ houses, mourning processions and imambargahs.—Bureau Report