LAKKI MARWAT: The residents on Monday demonstrated outside the police station in the Tajori area and blocked the busy Indus Highway to protest the murder of a villager by robbers.

They placed the body of Inayatullah on the highway, threw stones at the police station and shouted slogans against the police.

The protesters, including relatives of the deceased, said the rising robbery incidence in the area had exposed the people’s inefficiency.

They first warned if the police didn’t arrest killers within an hour, they would close the highway to traffic.

The police bosses showed up, met protesters and tried in vain to convince them for dispersal.

The mob later reached the Malang Adda and placed the body in the middle of the highway connecting the province with other parts of the country suspending traffic.

People from other rural areas also joined the protest.

The protesters burned old tyres and shouted slogans against the police over the growing lawlessness.

They said the protest would continue until the killers were held.

However, the mob dispersed after the police promised early arrest of the killers.

A police official said armed men intercepted a car on the Tajori Road near Kataukhel area, looted four men travelling in it, and opened fire on resistance killing Inayatullah, 53, and injuring Fidaullah.

A Rescue 1122 team shifted the body and the injured to a local hospital.

Meanwhile, three motorcyclists looted over Rs1.7 million cash from a trader in Mohallah Begukhel of Lakki Marwat city on Monday.

Trader Ismail was robbed when he was on his way home on his motorcycle.

The police registered robbery cases and began the investigation.

PEACE EFFORTS: The district administration and Marwat Qaumi Jirga on Monday agreed to make joint efforts for peace and development here.

The agreement came during a meeting at the district headquarters complex Tajazai.

The administration’s team comprised local deputy commissioner Abdul Hadi and other officials, while MQJ members included Haji Mohammad Aslam Khan, Faridullah Khan, Maulana Asghar Ali, Maulana Abdul Rahim, Nawabzada Abdul Rahim Khan, Hashim Khan Begukhel, Maulana Samiullah Mujahid, and others.

The MQJ members highlighted the issues of the residents and called for their early yet effective resolution. They said lasting peace would ensure sustainable development.

The deputy commission said the administration was striving to address people’s issues.

He said he had already ordered the early rehabilitation of the Marwat Canal and completion of work on the Cadet College.

The DC urged elders to help law-enforcement agencies to ensure peace in the district.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2023