LAKKI MARWAT: Thousands of people gathered in front of the main gate of the District Headquarters Complex, Lakki Marwat, on Monday to protest the delay in safe recovery of the abducted Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) workers.

The protesters reached the venue located at a distance of 14 kilometres from the Lakki city in rallies and staged a sit-in there. Banners carrying demands, including safe recovery of the abducted employees and establishment of peace, were also displayed at the protest.

A good number of policemen in civvies with banners and placards in their hands also turned up. They carried their official rifles and raised slogans for peace.

Bazaars and markets in Lakki city and some other towns remained closed, while lawyers boycotted courts. Attendance in government offices and private and public sector educational institutions remained thin.

Ask security forces to release people ‘in their custody’

The busy road linking Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab and Islamabad via the CPEC route remained closed for several hours.

PTI MNA Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, MPA Johar Mohammad, Lakki tehsil council chairman Shafqatullah Khan Khoidadkhel, former tehsil nazim Hidayatullah Khan, Naseer Turab, former tehsil naib nazim Hafiz Asif Saleem Advocate, president Lakki bar association Asif Iqbal Advocate, PTI’s Dr Mohammad Iqbal, Marwat Beittani Tehreek chairman Inamullah Khan, Maulana Abdul Haq, Maulana Ahmed Shah Qureshi and others spoke on the occasion.

They asked the people to sideline their political affiliations and forge unity in their ranks for peace. They alleged that the ruling class had ruined the country for “its lust for dollars”.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially its southern districts, are hit hard by terrorism and lawlessness but the ruling class seems not interested in paying heed to the situation,” they regretted.

They said that the local people were peace-loving and wanted peace on their land.

They asked the police to take action against drug peddlers, criminals and elements spreading unrest in the region. They also asked the government to secure safe recovery of hostages from kidnappers and hand them over to the elders.

Later, Naseer Turab, one of the speakers, announced the declaration of the sit-in and declared that if the ‘Taliban militants’ did not release the hostages within three days, the tribesmen would come out with weapons and ‘launch an action’ against them.

He also said that the security forces should release all the ‘innocent’ people within a week.

He said that the elders would gather at the Children’s Park on Tuesday (today) to take an oath to implement the declaration in letter and spirit.

“Any elder who does not attend the meeting will be treated as a traitor,” he warned.

After the announcement of the declaration the protesters ended the sit-in and dispersed peacefully.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2025