BAJAUR: Speakers at a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 63 people at a JUI-F workers’ convention in 2023, have called for sincere efforts to end the prolonged unrest in the district.

The ceremony, named “Shuhada-i-Bajaur”, was arranged by the JUI-F local chapter in Khar the other day and was attended by scores of party workers and leaders.

Political figures from different parties, elders and family members of those slain in the July 30, 2023, suicide bombing were also present to observe the third anniversary of what was described as the deadliest and most tragic incident in Bajaur’s history.

JUI-F district head Maulana Abdur Rasheed, Bajaur Amn Jirga head and JI district emir Sahibzada Haroon Rashid, PPP provincial leader Syed Akhunzada Chattan, PML-N district president Malik Gul Kareem Khan, religious scholar Maulana Zakirullah, former Khar tehsil council chairman and JUI-F deputy chief Said Badshah, Maulana Muhammad Tariq, Mian Habib Gul and Malik Mohammad Ayaz Khan addressed the event.

They said: “The July 30, 2023 bombing at the peaceful JUI-F workers’ convention, in which about 63 innocent people of various ages, most of them party workers, were martyred and more than 123 others wounded, was a tragic incident.”

The speakers said the attack had not only claimed precious lives but also created an atmosphere of panic and fear among citizens, especially the victims’ families, relatives, friends and colleagues.

Paying rich tribute to the departed souls, they said those who lost their lives in the bombing were “truly the heroes of Bajaur as they sacrificed their lives for peace.”

Expressing deep concern over the prolonged unrest in the district, the speakers urged the relevant authorities to make sincere efforts to ensure lasting peace in the region.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2026