LAKKI MARWAT: Bannu elders have said all tribes are united against the menace of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and targeted killing, and asked the government and law enforcement agencies to take immediate steps for restoration of peace in the region.

Speaking at a jirga held at the sports complex in Bannu city on Tuesday, they condemned surge in the kidnapping incidents.

Local residents as well as government employees feel insecure at the hands of terrorists and criminal gangs, they said, regretting that attacks on law enforcers and police stations had become a routine.

Former provincial minister Malik Shah Mohammad Khan, Mameezullah Khan, Mureed Hayat Khan Advocate, Malik Nasrullah Khan, Ghulam Qeebaz Khan, Nasir Bangash, Malik Ashwar Khan Durrani Advocate, Shaukat Ayaz Khan Advocate and other elders from Bannu and North Waziristan participated in the jirga.

Calls for reopening of roads

An elder said closure of roads on the pretext of security had added to the people’s troubles. “Our repeated requests to open the roads always fall on deaf ears,” he alleged, adding citizens are being killed in quadcopter strikes in Bannu and North Waziristan.

Another elder said road blockades by government agencies and kidnapping incidents had increased the people’s sufferings.

The elders said residents were united against the menace of terrorism, and demanded of the government to expedite efforts for the safe recovery of kidnapped employees of Peshawar Electric Supply Company.

The elders made it clear that they would chalk out a future line of action if their demands were not met by Oct 9.

THEFT INCIDENTS PROTESTED: Traders held a protest demonstration against growing theft incidents involving a women gang in Lakki Marwat city on Tuesday.

The protesters gathered at Kargil Chowk where they closed Lakki-Darra Tang Road. Traders’ leaders said an organised gang of women thieves was active in the markets.

They asked the police to arrest the gang members. Later, the protesters dispersed.

Meanwhile, police arrested two suspected women thieves in the Lakki city.

Separately, the district steering committee on health asked the relevant authorities to tighten the monitoring mechanism at the health facilities as employees were increasingly indulging in truancy and using proxies for performing duties at health centres.

The committee met on Tuesday with deputy commissioner Hameedullah Khan in the chair.

Mr Hameedullah directed the health authorities to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the habitually absent workers and immediately stop illegal practice of using proxies and substitutes by health employees.

He warned the health staffers would face stern departmental action in case they were found involved in using proxies for performing duties.

He ordered geo-mapping of health employees and linking their data with place of posting (hospitals) to improve attendance and maintain accurate record of duty location.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2025