PESHAWAR: The political activists, lawyers and civil society members on Thursday took out demonstrations in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against the killing of a Fata youth by the police in Karachi and demanded a judicial inquiry into it.

They warned that if the government didn’t meet their demand, they would agitate in the provincial capital and stage a sit-in outside the Governor’s House on Jan 22 as part of the nationwide protests.

In Peshawar, a protest was held outside the press club with the participants holding banners and placards with messages calling for the immediate arrest and punishment of the policemen suspected of killing Naqeeb Mehsud in a fake encounter.

The speakers, including former ANP MNA Jamila Gilani, Mohsin Dawar of the National Youth Organisation, Radish Tony of the Sikh community, Maryam Bibi of the Khwendo Kor and Shaukat Aziz of the Fata Students Organisation, claimed Naqeeb Mehsud, who had been dealing in cloth since 2008 in Karachi, had nothing to do with terrorism and that he was killed by the police in a fake encounter.

Participants threaten agitation if judicial probe not ordered

They said many residents of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were killed by the police over false terrorism charges during the last many years but the government didn’t bother to probe those killings.

The speakers demanded of Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, and the Supreme Court chief justice to order judicial probe into the killing for the exemplary punishment of the culpable policemen.

They set the Jan 21 deadline for the Sindh government to order judicial probe into the killing and warned if the demand wasn’t met, a sit-in would be staged outside the Governor’s House in Peshawar on Monday as part of the countrywide protests.

Also in the day, the residents of various areas in Tank district staged a protest and blocked the Tank-Wana Road and torched old tyres for about one hour against the Karachi killing.

Led by elders Malik Saeed Anwar, Maulana Abdullah, Dilawar Khan Mehsud, Shams Mehsud and Kaleemullah advocate, the protesters insisted that the tribal youngster was killed by the police in a fake encounter.

They demanded judicial inquiry into the killing and said if the Sindh government didn’t do so, Fata tribesmen and political activists would agitate.

SIT-IN PLANNED: The Fata Students Organisation announced that tribal youths would hold protests in Peshawar and stage a sit-in outside the Governor’s House on Jan 21 if the Sindh government didn’t order judicial inquiry into the killing of ‘innocent’ Naqeeb Mehsud for the exemplary punishment of the culpable policemen.

FSO president Shaukat Aziz told a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club that the slain youngster, Naqeeb Mehsud, who belonged to Waziristan Agency, was neither involved in criminal activities nor was he linked to any banned militant outfit.

He said two Bajaur Agency residents were also gunned down in Lahore lately but the killers were still at large.

Mr Aziz said tribesmen were not terrorists and that they had rendered great sacrifices for the country. The FSP leader demanded of the army chief, Supreme Court chief justice and prime minister to ensure judicial probe into the killing.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2018