Pakistan: Sit-in continues in Bajaur tribal district amid rising killing incidents

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], August 21 : A sit-in which was organized to call for maintaining law and order in the Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been continuing as the protestors demand the restoration of peace and security in the region.
Many incidents of killings have been reported in the district as the law and order situation in Bajaur continued to deteriorate forcing people to raise their voices against the situation. The sit-in was led by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F).
People from different walks of life, including political and social activists, youths and elders participated in the protest sit-in staged outside the Civil Colony, Khar, which houses the residences of government officials, reported Dawn.
JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdur Rasheed said the agitation would continue till the authorities took concrete steps to maintain law and order in the region. He said the Station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned would be responsible if any incident of the killing happened in his jurisdiction.
The tribal district has remained a volatile region as numerous incidents of bomb blasts have been reported in various areas across the district. Earlier, two policemen -- Said Ahmed and Inayatur Rahmen -- were killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast in the Mamund area on Friday.
Moreover, the killing of a youth by unknown robbers in Salarzai tehsil sparked a protest demonstration by the villagers here on Friday. Besides the victim's relatives, scores of villagers and political activists participated in the protest and placed the victim's body on the Khar-Falang bypass road in Khar town for about two hours.
The protesters said that the victim Ayaz Khan, 24, was on his way home on Thursday night when unknown robbers interpreted him to snatch his mobile phone. They said that the robbers opened fire on Ayaz when he showed resistance. They said the victim was critically wounded and died on way to the hospital.
Awami National party district president Gul Afzal Khan condemned the incident and termed it a failure of the district administration and police to give protection to the residents. They said the district had witnessed scores of such incidents during the last several months.
They said the growing incidents of mobile phone snatching and other street crimes were a matter of serious concern for the residents. They urged the senior officials of the district administration and police to take immediate steps for arrest of the criminals involved in such incidents.
JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdur Rasheed, Awami National Party (ANP) leaders Sheikh Jan Zada, Nisar Baz Khan, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Syed Akhunzada Chattan, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI) Qari Abdul Majeed, former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Eng Shaukatullah Khan, Khar traders' association president Haji Khan Bahadur, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Malik Asghar Khan, Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) leader Malik Shahauddin Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of National Assembly Gul Dad Khan were present at the sit-in.