KHAR: A shutter down strike was observed in Bajaur Agency’s Inayat Kallay Bazaar here on Sunday to protest the killing of two locals by unidentified persons in Lahore on Friday.

Unknown armed men opened fire on three residents of Bajaur Agency who had installed their stalls outside Data Darbar Market in Lahore, leaving Abdur Rahman and Awal Khan dead on the spot, while anther vendor, Zar Wali Khan, was critically injured.The call for the strike was given by PTI and ANP local chapters.

However, roads were open during the strike despite the fact that activists of political parties had announced on Saturday that complete wheel-jam would also be observed in the region.

The organisers of the protest had advised the transporters not to bring their vehicles onto the roads in order to make the strike effective.

However, according to locals, the number of public transport vehicles on road was less compared to the routine.

The activists of several political parties also staged a protest demonstration in the bazaar.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI leader Gul Zafar Khan, ANP leader Fateh Rahman and others strongly commanded the killings as both the victims were innocent and belonged to poor families.

The speakers bashed the Punjab government for not arresting the killers despite passage of three days. They said the brutal killings of two labourers in Lahore had created fear among thousands of people of Bajaur earning their living in the Punjab’s capital.

They urged the chief minister of the province to take personal interest in arrest of the killers and ensure safety of Bajaur people.

They threatened that people of Bajaur would stage a protest demonstration outside the Chief Minister House in Lahore if the attackers were not arrested in three days.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2018