KHYBER: Scores of angry Kukikhel tribesmen held a protest demonstration at Bab-i-Khyber in Jamrud on Sunday against the deteriorating law and order situation in the region.
The demonstration was held under the aegis of Zwan Kukikhel Ettihad (ZKE), a youth organisation. It was also attended by activists of several political parties and local tribesmen.
Speaking on the occasion, ZKE president Sadeeq Afridi said that law and order situation had deteriorated in Jamrud teshil during the last two months as unidentified assailants intensified bomb attacks on local elders and businessmen after a recent surge in telephone calls from suspected persons, demanding extortion.
He said that besides local elders and traders, unidentified armed men also targeted local police and other peaceful citizens. He added that police were totally clueless about such incidents.
Malak Barkat Afridi, a Kukikhel elder, said on the occasion that a peaceful environment was constitutional right of every law abiding citizen. He said that district administration and police should provide security to the people.
He also demanded an early return of all the displaced Kukikhel families to their homes in Tirah alongside conducting a fair survey of their damaged houses and subsequent compensation to them.
Traffic on the main Peshawar-Torkham Highway remained suspended for several hours owing to the protest demonstration.
POWER FEDER: Federal Minister for Haj and Religious Affairs Allama Noorul HaqQadri inaugurated separate electricity feeder and transformers at Landi Kotal grid station for restoration of power supply to the bazaar.
Power supply to Landi Kotal Bazaar remained suspended for almost six years as the local traders and the grid station staff could not agree on the payment of electricity bills after installation of power meters.
The local shopkeepers had long been resisting installation of power meters and demanding payment of their monthly bills on a flat rate.
Officials said that the new feeder for Landi Kotal Bazaar at the grid station was installed and made operational at a cost of Rs2.3 million while another Rs1.1 million would be spent on installation of separate transformers at the bazaar.
The facility on its completion would fully restore power supply to the bazaar while around 2,500 shops would be provided with meters later.
Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2021
