WANA: Seven houses of alleged militants and their facilitators were razed to the ground by a lashkar (a group of peace volunteers from Ahmedzai Wazir tribe) in different areas of Wana in South Waziristan agency on Wednesday.

The houses of Ghulam Jan and his relatives were demolished in Shalam Dana and those of Toor Hafiz and Wari Khan in Shin Warsak. The houses of Gul Mir in Tiarza and Sattar Khan and his cousin in Samar Bagh were also razed to the ground.

The “accused terrorists” belonged to the Hakimullah and Maulvi Nazir groups of the banned Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to sources, the decision to demolish the houses was taken by a 120-member jirga (an elders’ council) after “proofs” of the suspects’ involvement in terrorist activities were obtained through an investigation. The jirga found that the “militants and their facilitators” were part of the TTP and had violated a peace accord with the government.

It investigated the matter on a complaint lodged by the political administration of South Waziristan.

Wana bazaar remained closed during the demolition process in which over 400 volunteers participated, sources said.

The houses were razed to the ground with the help of bulldozers and the debris was set on fire.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2016