BAJAUR: A large number of people protested here on Sunday against the murder of Jamaat-i-Islami local chapter general secretary Mohammad Hamid Sufi a few days ago, and called for taking substantial steps to end the targeted killings in Bajaur.

The protesters, including political workers, demonstrated in the Khar Bazaar, the main trading centre of the district.

The participants expressed grave concern over the killing of Sufi in an armed attack in Inayat Kallay town on Thursday evening. The protesters chanted slogans in support of peace in the district, and termed the murder the government’s failure to fulfill its responsibility of ensuring security to citizens.

JI leader and former provincial minister Inayatullah Khan, JI district chief Sahibzada Haroon Rasheed, JUI-F local emir Maulana Abdur Rasheed, PPP leader Sayed Akhunzada Chattan, ANP president Gul Afzal Khan, JUI-F leader Haji Akbar Jan, PML-N president Gul Kareem Khàn, religious figures Maulana Zakirullah, Maulana Fazal Ahad, Haji Sardar Khan, Mufti Ihsanul Haq and JI Mohmand district leader Firdous Khan were among these who addressed the protesters.

The speakers noted that besides the JI leader, several people had become victims of targeted killing in the district. However, they regretted that the police had so far failed to arrest even a single ‘target killer’.

The speakers said such incidents had disrupted the peaceful environment in Bajaur. They regretted that the people of the district had yet to see any tangible steps from the authorities to control the targeted killing incidence.

They asked both the federal and provincial governments to take result-oriented steps to end the violence in the district.

The speakers also urged the leaders and workers of political and religious parties and tribal elders to raise their voice against the growing lawlessness in the district.

On the occasion, JI provincial leader Inayatullah Khan warned that the party workers would block the Swat Motorway if the killers of Hamid Sufi were not arrested at the earliest.

Most shops in Khar Bazaar remained closed during the protest demonstration.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2024