LAKKI MARWAT: Bannu division commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousafzai has said the government will carry out promised development projects and release the tribesmen as part of an agreement signed with the elders of Janikhel area of Lakki Marwat.

Speaking to elders at a meeting held at the commissioner’s office in Bannu on Monday, he said the government was serious in providing basic amenities of life to the tribesmen.

Mr Yousafzai said the government would consult the elders before launching uplift schemes.

On the occasion, provincial transport minister Malik Shah Mohammad Khan said the government would set up a boys college and a technical college in the Janikhel region. He said employment opportunities would be created for the tribesmen. He said uplift schemes proposed by elders would be forwarded to the provincial government for approval.

It is pertinent to mention here that Janikhel tribesmen had staged a sit-in for several days in March, demanding arrest of the killers of four teenagers.

The sit-in had ended after the government signed an agreement with the tribesmen, promising arrest of the culprits and launching development projects in the region.

JIRGA: A jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe has announced to form a lashkar of 20,000 tribesmen to assist the administration in maintaining peace in Bannu.

The announcement came at the meeting of the 56-member committee of elders the other day.

The elders asked the police to launch serious actions against narcotics sellers and anti-social elements, and avoid grilling the law-abiding citizens over use of tinted glasses in their vehicles and possession of licensed weapons.

In a separate development, rivals shot dead a man over political differences in Haramatala village of Lakki Marwat.

The Serai Gambila police identified the victim as Mohammad Ali.

The accused, Kifayatullah and Nadim, were booked.

In Bannu, a woman committed suicide by hanging herself in a room of her house in Mamashkhel area. The body of the victim, 34, was shifted to the district headquarters hospital for autopsy.

Also, a woman, who was hit and injured by a speeding car at Allah Chowk died at the Bannu DHQ Hospital.

A man was shot dead over cattle theft in Khaisor Mirali area. The victim was identified as Alias Khan.

The Mirali police registered a case against the attackers.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2021