SWAT: People poured into the streets of Mingora here on Tuesday to protest Monday evening’s blasts inside the Kabal police station, which killed 16 people and injured around 70.

The police ruled out terrorism in the explosions claiming they occurred in the ammunition store of an old office of the counter-terrorism department inside the police station.

However, the residents raised questions about those claims and insisted that terrorists carried out the blasts.

They condemned the incident and announced street protests in Kabal and Mingora Bazaar.

The Kabal Bazaar rally was organised by the Swat Olasi Pasoon, while the Swat Qaumi Jirga held the protest at Nishat Chowk, Mingora.

Amid police’s denial, protesters claim terrorists behind incident

The speakers included Swat Olasi Pasoon leaders Fawad Khan, Aftab Khan, Nazif Lala, Mohammad Ali Dagiwal and Idrees Bacha, PkMAP leaders Khurshid Kaka Ji, Mukhtiyar Yousafzai, Dr Khalid, Abdul Jabbar Khan, Ayoub Asharey, Hameedul Haq and Irfan Chattan.

The protests were attended by people from across Swat in large numbers, who demanded durable peace in the region and other Pakhtun areas.

They said that the people of Malakand division would no longer be “deceived in the name of terrorism dramas.”

The speakers said that Pakhtuns didn’t believe the police’s assertion that the blasts occurred in a weapon store by a short circuit.

They insisted that if ground reality and facts were anything to go by, then the incident seemed to be a planned act of terrorism.

The speakers said that Pakhtuns won’t tolerate terrorism on their land anymore as they believed that acts of terrorism had always been carried out in the country to claim American dollars.

They said that Pakhtuns were opposed to terrorism and “fake conflicts created for US dollars.”

The speakers said Pakhtuns were peaceful and wouldn’t allow terrorists or militants on their land.

They said that in 2007, the vested interest created a false impression about Pakhtuns that they’re terrorists and supported terrorism.

The speakers said that Pakhtuns vehemently denied that impression but only a few people subscribed to their opinion at that time.

They said Pakhtuns declared that they won’t let any terrorist use their land to execute their agendas.

The speakers said that if anyone tried to bring terrorists back to Malakand division, the residents, especially Swatis, who had lost trust in security forces, would foil such bids.

They demanded that an independent and transparent inquiry be held to look into the reality of the Kabal police station blasts to bring facts to the fore.

In October last year, thousands of people took to the streets to protest an attack on a school van, which left its driver dead and injured students. The protest continued for around 40 hours before family members agreed to bury the bodies due to negotiations with authorities.

Also, street protests were also staged in several parts of the province to express solidarity with the people of Swat against militant attacks.

In January this year, people in several cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took to the streets against a suicide attack in the Peshawar Police Lines, which left scores of police personnel dead and over 200 injured.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2023