PESHAWAR, May 4: Elders of Khalil-Mohmand tribes have voiced full support for Lashkar-i-Islam and called upon the government to take action against elements responsible for the killing of innocent children during a ‘peaceful protest’ demonstration on April 23 in Bara, Khyber Agency.

Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, the elders of various tribes of Khalil-Mohmand, including Malak Aurangzeb Khan, Sarwar Hussain, Zameer Khan, Mohammad Karim and Faridullah, called for an independent jirga to negotiate peace between the two armed groups in the area.

“The reconciliation would bring peace and stability to the area,” they added.

They said that security forces on the behest of the political administration had opened indiscriminate fire on the peaceful protesting students which resulted in the killing of five innocent schoolboys. “Holding a protest is a democratic right of an individual, but the administration crossed all boundaries,” they added.—PPI