LAKKI MARWAT: Abduction of three people and killing of a young man in separate incidents sparked protests in parts of Lakki Marwat district on Sunday as a large number of people blocked the Peshawar-Karachi Highway and a rural road.

Residents of Daulatkhel, some of them armed with weapons, gathered on the Begukhel Road against the kidnapping of three villagers along with a pick-up truck by a gang of criminals.

The police said on Saturday, members of a criminals’ gang led by Shafiq Sardar attacked some residents of Daulatkhel when they were returning to their village after harvesting reed plants.

After the attack, the armed villagers came out of their houses and exchanged fire with the criminals, the police said.

Protesters demand action against gang of criminals involved in abduction

They quoted a villager, Mohammad Ayub, as saying the gang members kidnapped three villagers, identified as Hayatullah, Muhabbat Khan and Shahzar Khan, near Zerjanu area and shifted them to an undisclosed location.

The villagers blocked the rural road for several hours.

The protesters asked the government to ensure safe recovery of the kidnapped persons. They also asked the police to launch action against the criminals’ gang and its kingpin, Shafiq Sardar. On assurance by police, the protesters ended the agitation and opened the road.

Also in the day, residents of Kaichi Kamar area agitated after finding the body of a young man in the forest along the Kurrum River. They took the body to the Kurrum Bridge on the Peshawar-Karachi Highway and closed it to vehicular traffic.

The road closure troubled transporters and commuters.

The protesters said the deceased, identified as Barkatullah, was a labourer, who would earn a living by harvesting reed plants in the forest. They alleged a mortar shell fired by security forces killed him.

The villagers said the deceased was the sole bread earner of his family.

The police rushed to the venue of the agitation and engaged the relatives of deceased and local elders in talks. After successful negotiations, the protesters dispersed and opened the highway.

Salim Khan, uncle of the deceased, told Dadiwala police that Barkatullah along with other workers would go to the forest daily to harvest red plants. “On Saturday, when he did not return till evening the relatives and villagers launched a search for him in the forest and found his body,” he said. He said his family had no enmity with anyone.

The police said they had initiated an investigation into the incident.

SHOT DEAD: Unknown gunmen killed a motorcyclist and took away his bike in Sera Naurang town of Lakki Marwat on Sunday.

Police said the deceased, identified as Qadir, 34, was targeted near Nar Haideran area.

Abid, a brother of the deceased, told the police that Qadir had left home on motorcycle to watch a volleyball match. He said he was at home when someone informed him about the murder of his brother.

The police said an investigation into the murder was underway.

Separately, driver of a security team of a local cement factory was injured in an attack in Darra Pezu town on Saturday night.

The factory’s security supervisor, Wali Rehman reported to the police that he along with Ghulam Mohammad and Mohammad Nawaz was on a night patrol in a pick-up truck when three armed men opened fire at them.

He said their driver, Baidullah, was injured in the attack while they narrowly escaped.

Police said the injured was shifted to a hospital in DI Khan, and a case had been registered into the case.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2025