CHARSADDA/PESHAWAR: Awami National Party central president Aimal Wali Khan has condemned the alleged police firing on the participants of a jirga of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement in the Khyber district on Wednesday, which claimed the lives of three youth.

In a statement issued from Wali Bagh, Charsadda, he said that on one hand, ‘good and bad’ militants were shedding the blood of Pakhtuns mercilessly, while on the other, the ‘state’ targeted them if they adopted peaceful way of protest. “Pakhtuns are then labeled as terrorists and traitors,” he added.

Aimal said it was ‘shameful’ act when the police and FC personnel in Khyber fired shots at ‘innocent’ youth, leading to the death of three of them. He said the provincial and federal governments were blaming each other for the incident. He said both the provincial and central governments were equally involved in the youths’ murder. He said Pakhtuns were being pushed to the wall.

Aimal said ANP stood in solidarity with the jirga organisers and supported their legal right of holding public gatherings.

Ask govt to find solution to issues through peaceful means

Meanwhile, in a statement issued in Peshawar, ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain said direct firing on peaceful organisers of the PTM jirga in Khyber was a barbaric act on the part of the law enforcers.

“ANP strongly condemns the state oppression on peaceful people. Jirga is a part of Pakhtun traditions, and under which law it is being banned,” he questioned.

Mr Iftikhar alleged that both the provincial and federal governments were trying to blame each other for the killings.

He feared that such measures would lead the people to violence instead of adopting the constitutional and democratic path to raise their voices. He made it clear that the consequences of such actions were always dangerous. “The sufferings of Pakhtuns affected by terrorism should be alleviated instead of further aggravating them.”

Similarly, Qaumi Watan Party also expressed concern over the incident, saying that the use of force was not a solution to any problem.

In a statement, also issued in Peshawar, the QWP leadership expressed its heartfelt sympathy and solidarity with the families of those who died and were injured, saying that the use of force against peaceful citizens was beyond imagination.

They said the country’s Constitution gave all citizens the right to express their opinion and hold peaceful protest. “The government should seek political solution to such issues instead of using state force against the citizens.”

The party announced that a 14-member delegation of QWP would participate in the PTM jirga. The delegation will be led by party’s information secretary Tariq Ahmed Khan.

The QWP said it said had always fought for the rights, protection and welfare of Pakhtuns while staying within the framework of the Constitution at every stage, and in this context it had cooperated with those who raised voice for the rights of Pakhtuns.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024