BANNU/WANA: At least 22 workers of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) were detained in different parts of Bannu on Monday night and sent to the Haripur central jail on Tuesday.

Bannu Deputy Commissioner Attaur Rehman said that detentions had been made under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance. A reporter of a Pashto TV channel, Khan Badshah aka Gohar Wazir, was among the detained persons.

Police and administration launched the operation late night after workers of the PTM and the Awami National Party (ANP) staged a demonstration to protest against the Kharqamar incident in North Waziristan tribal district.

Police raided tea stalls and houses in different localities of the city and detained 22 people. Mr Rehman said that those detained were posing a threat to the law and order situation and they had been held for 30 days.

Ban on public gatherings imposed in South Waziristan tribal district

An official said that the detained people were sent to the Haripur jail on Tuesday. Former district president of the ANP Abdul Samad Khan, Bakht Niaz Khan and several student leaders were among the detained persons.

Meanwhile, the administration imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in South Waziristan tribal district and placed a ban on public gatherings after a demonstration was staged in Wana.

Residents said that the ANP had organised the demonstration outside the Scouts Fort in Wana before Iftar on Monday and wound it up after Sehri on Tuesday. A large number of people, raising slogans against the killing of people at Kharqamar check post, participated in the demonstration. Activists of the PTM also joined the protest.

Meanwhile, curfew was partially relaxed in Miramshah and other parts of North Waziristan tribal district on Tuesday. However, communication facilities remained suspended. The administration had imposed curfew in the tribal district after the Kharqamar incident.

Provincial general secretary of the ANP Sardar Hussain Babak has condemned the detention of Gohar Wazir, a reporter of a private TV channel, and warned that such ac­tions would further aggravate the situation.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2019