BAJAUR: People from various areas in Khar tehsil here on Thursday took to the streets and said their houses shouldn’t be targeted in the ongoing operation against terrorists.

The demonstration held in the Kosar area along Bajaur-Peshawar Highway was attended by residents of Lra Banda, Shagi, Kosar, Delhi, Janat Shah, Galo Kass, Gooro and surrounding areas in large numbers.

The gathering was joined by several political and social activists, including a delegation of Bajaur Aman Jirga led by its chief Sahibzada Haroon Rashid.

The participants, who blocked the highway to vehicular movement by sitting on the road, claimed that a number of civilian houses and mosques in Kosar and its adjacent areas were targeted with heavy weapons last night.

The angered protesters asserted that the targeting of civilian houses had not only created fear and panic among the local communities but had also put the lives of their families, mainly children, women and elderly people, in grave danger, as they were living in their houses at the time of the firing.

Bajaur Aman Jirga head Sahibzada Haroon Rashid, Nawagai tehsil council chairman and PTI senior leader Dr Khalilur Rehman, ANP general secretary Shah Naseer Khan, party deputy general secretary Sayed Sadiq Akbar Jan, Hazar Hayat and Irshad Khan addressed the demonstration and expressed concerns over the alleged targeting of civilian houses.

Calling the attacks on the houses of residents intolerable, the speakers said such an act was not only against the civilians but also a violation of the agreement made by authorities to refrain from targeting the local population in the anti-terrorist operation in the region.

“The targeting of the residents’ houses in Kosar and its adjacent areas last night was a clear violation of the agreement made by authorities with them on August 14 before an operation was launched in Mamund tehsil that the civilian population wouldn’t be targeted,” Mr Rashid said.

He and other speakers asked authorities to ensure protection of public life and property during the ongoing operation.

They said that people across the district wanted an early end to the ongoing unrest and uncertainty in the region.

The speakers observed that the prolonged unrest and uncertainty had badly affected the lives of the residents.

The demonstration lasted several hours, forcing transporters to use a difficult alternative route. Protesters dispersed peacefully after Sahibzada Rashid informed them that authorities, through the deputy commissioner, had assured the Bajaur Aman Jirga that the civilian population won’t be targeted in the operation.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2025