KHYBER: Talks between authorities and protesting Kukikhel tribesmen made no headway on Wednesday as the protesters refused to end the blockade of the main Torkham Highway despite an official promise to sympathetically consider their demand for the immediate return of internally displaced persons.

A jirga composed of Zakhakhel, Shinwari, Shalman and Malagori elders met Peshawar commissioner Riaz Mehsud at the Khyber House on Wednesday and informed him about the demands of Kukikhel protesters.

The commissioner assured visitors that a meeting of the Kukikhel representatives would be arranged with the provincial apex committee soon after the return of the chief minister from Islamabad, where he had called a meeting of his cabinet, according to official sources.

They insisted that the jirga members were also told that the situation in Tirah was not very conducive for the return of IDPs as those who returned earlier had started vacating their homes yet again due to insecurity.

The sources claimed that the commissioner declared that the plan for Kukikhels’ return to their homes was part of the agenda of the coming apex committee meeting to be held after the return of the chief minister from Islamabad to Peshawar.

They said that the commissioner urged Kukikhels to lift the key road’s blockade while continuing with the peaceful protest at the Bab-i-Khyber until a solution was found to their grievances.

The jirga members later met with the representatives of protesters and conveyed the official message on the IDPs’ issue to them.

However, Kukikhels refused to end the road blockade and insisted that their protest would continue until the government announced an immediate plan for the return of remaining IDPs.

Meanwhile, two trucks loaded with medicines and fruits skidded off the road near Malagori due to the narrow and bumpy condition of the road.

The accident damaged the goods.

The prolonged closure of the main highway forced transporters to reroute their merchandise, mostly perishable items, to Peshawar via the Shalman-Malagori Road.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2024