LANDI KOTAL, Oct 17: Christian families evicted from the army camp in Landi Kotal area continued protesting at Charwazgai Chowk for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

The Khyber Rifles authorities have refused to allow protesters to go to the camp houses.

Fanyas Masih, a spokesman for protesters, told Dawn that men had established a protest camp as female members of their families still lived in the camp.

“No one is ready to listen to our woes. The commandant of Khyber Rifles has refused to meet our delegation, while the political administration insists the matter is beyond its domain,” he said.

The spokesman said besides establishing a protest camp, the evicted families had also stopped cleaning Landi Kotal Bazaar and army camp.

“We are not entitled to any other government service nor could we own private property,” he said, adding that the affected families had no place to go after their expulsion from the camp.

Meanwhile, official sources said action against Christians was taken on security grounds.

“Many of them have taken up sanitation jobs across the border in Torkhum, Marko, Jalalabad and even Kabul and frequently go to Afghanistan although on legal documents,” the official said and adding that such activities by Christians living in army camp in Landi Kotal had aroused suspensions in the minds of Khyber Rifles bosses.

When contacted, Mr Masih confirmed that six to seven members of Christian community had taken up manual jobs in Afghanistan, while some had violated law by entering houses in the locality or making and selling liquor.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...