Students ransack govt offices

Published August 6, 2003

SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Aug 5: Angry students ransacked government offices in the Tehsil building in Makeen in South Waziristan Agency and torched furniture and official record on Monday.

The students were protesting against the failure of the political administration in recovering a kidnapped student.

Hundreds of students of different schools gathered in the Makeen bazaar and marched towards the Tehsil building. They encircled the tehsil offices for more than three hours and forced their entry into the building.

The students pulled down the windows and doors and collected the office furniture and record in the courtyard and set them on fire. They also badly damaged the building.

The security personnel on duty at the Tehsil building slipped away from the scene and did not stop the students from damaging the government property.

The protesting students also blocked the main road in Makeen and burnt old tyres. Later, they marched towards Laddah to register their protest against the non-recovery of their kidnapped colleague.

Ziauddin, a student of government high school Shakar Kot, South Waziristan Agency, was kidnapped by unknown persons last month.

The political administration had failed to recover the student despite a number of assurances given to the tribal people that Ziauddin would be recovered soon.

The students had also staged protest processions in different areas in the agency after the kidnapping incident last month and demanded the unconditional recovery of their colleague.