KHYBER: Funeral prayers for the banned Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement’s activists, who were killed in a police action on Wednesday, were held at the site of the Oct 11 national jirga in Jamrud tehsil here on Thursday.

They included PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen. This was Pashteen’s first appearance at the jirga’s venue after the police torched tents and other goods, fired tear gas shells on PTM activists, and resorted to firing on Oct 2.

Noted among participants were Jamaat-i-Islami leader Mushtaq Ahmad, PTI MNA Dr Amjad, former finance minister Taimur Jhagra, former district nazim Asim, and ANP MPA from Bajaur Nisar Baz. The funeral prayers were led by cleric Mufti Munir Shakir.

Funeral prayers for PTM activists held

An injured activist, Eshtehar from the Ghundi area in Jamrud, died in the hospital, increasing the death toll from police violence on Wednesday to four.

Resident Aman Ali told Dawn that banned rights movement’s activists, including both youth and the elderly, were committed to holding the jirga on Oct 11.

Mr Pashteen condemned the police action against “unarmed” PTM volunteers and criticised the provincial government for barricading major roads to prevent PTM volunteers and sympathisers from participating in the jirga.

“Holding jirga is an old Pakhtun tradition and no one can prevent us [Pakhtuns] from doing so tomorrow [Friday],” he said amid sloganeering by his supporters.

The PTM leader said the police firing on PTM workers and stopping them from taking part in the three-day jirga showed the authorities’ brutality towards Pakhtuns but such acts won’t be tolerated.

He announced that all participants of Thursday’s gathering would stay at the jirga’s venue until Friday morning.

“A joint strategy will be devised by leaders of political parties and civil society organisations, intellectuals and tribal elders on the first day of the jirga,” he said.

Mr Pashteen said large television screens would be installed at the venue to display the data of damage to public life and property in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces during military operations in the last two decades.

An event organiser told Dawn on condition of anonymity that the government had stopped tent suppliers and caterers from providing their goods and services for the three-day PTM jirga.

He said volunteers in almost all major cities were told to bring in those materials but nobody was willing to do so fearing a police crackdown.

He, however, said Jamrud residents arranged food, water and other goods for jirga participants from their own resources. Many PTM activists were provided accommodation in hujras and houses in the area.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2024