MINGORA, Feb 13: Thousands of residents of Swat, mostly political activists, held a rally here on Friday, protesting against the military operation and demanding lifting of the curfew and enforcement of Sharia in the region.

The rally was held at the Green Chowk in the Mingora city after Friday prayers amid heavy downpour, on a call of religious and political party leaders.

This was the second such protest during the last three days. On Wednesday, thousands of protesters assembled at Barikot bazaar in Mingora against the bloody military operation.Former provincial minister and Jamaat-i-Islami leader Hussain Ahmed Kanju, local religious leaders Maulana Fazl-i-Haq, Maulana Azizullah, JUI-F leader and former MNA Qari Abdul Basit and others spoke on the occasion.

They called upon the government to stop the military operation which had killed many civilians. The army, they said, had launched the military operation to protect civilians and ensure peace in Swat, but they were rather targeting common citizens.

They criticised the army for “making lives of the people in Swat paralysed by imposing prolonged curfews without any reason”. They said despite such curfews the situation was still far from normal.

They said enforcement of Sharia was the only demand of the local people. They said it was the only way to ensure peace in the region, adding peace could not be ensured by use of force.

They vowed to continue their protests till their demands of stopping the military operation and enforcement of Sharia in the Malakand region were met.

Our Correspondent from Timergara adds: A large number of people took to the roads despite rain in protest against a possible military operation in Adenzai and other areas of Lower Dir on Friday.

Eyewitnesses said that despite downpour, the demonstrators gathered in Ouch village after Friday prayers on the call of the Adenzai Qaumi Jirga. They marched on the road and culminated at Ouch Gharbi area where they held a public rally.

The rally was addressed by district president PML-N, Maulana Bashir Ahmad and Maulana Ghulamullah Haqqani of the JUI, nazims Qaisar Ali, Mohammad Zaman, Zahid Shah and Mushtaq Advocate.

They demanded of the government to immediately enforce Islamic laws in Malakand Division, stop military operation in Swat and Bajaur, and avoid army deployment in parts of Dir.

Speakers on the occasion condemned the government’s policies and said that over a million people had been forced to live like refugees in their own country.

They alleged that the law enforcement agencies had failed badly to provide security to people, their properties and honour. Incidents of kidnapping, robberies and killing were on the rise in the district, they said.

They alleged that forces engaged in Swat operation had been sending wrong reports to the rulers and the actual situation was quite different from what the authorities had been presenting.

On the occasion, through a unanimous resolution, they demanded of the government to avoid any military operation in Dir, accept Maulana Sufi Mohammad’s demand for Sharia enforcement in the region and stop military operations in Swat and Bajaur.