SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: The police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel fired in the air on Sunday to disperse people protesting against the closure of Wana Bazaar and Angoor Adda border crossing point with Afghanistan.

Witnesses said that the local administration closed shops and markets in the Wana town, the headquarters of South Waziristan tribal district, after a water tanker of FC was hit by a remote-controlled explosive device. The blast did not cause any casualty.

A large number of traders and workers of political parties assembled in front of the Scout Camp in Wana and staged a sit-in there, demanding opening of the bazaar and the crossing point.

Police and FC personnel fired in the air to disperse the protesters, but they refused to end agitation and continued with the sit-in.

The bazaar was, however, opened after negotiations between the local elders and the administration officials.

Internet service in the area has also been suspended.

The district administration had imposed Section 144 in Wana subdivision on Saturday, while the Angoor Adda crossing point has been closed since last Tuesday in the wake of an attack on a security post, in which an army major and a soldier were martyred.

Meanwhile, a jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has been convened on Monday (today) to discuss the prevailing uncertainty in the district and closure of the border point. Elders of nine clans of Ahmadzai Wazir would participate in the jirga.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2022