SWAT/BAJAUR: The workers of different political parties and civil society members held protest demonstrations in Swat and Bajaur on Thursday to seek independent inquiry into Peshawar police lines blast.

In Swat, the protests were organised by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in Mingora, Matta, and Khwazkhela. Political workers, youth and local elders attended the protests.

PkMAP Leaders Mukhtiar Khan Yousafzai, Anwar Khan Bacha Lala, Khurshaid Kaka Ji, Khalid Mahmood, Bacha Gul, Ali Namdar Khan, Umar Ali Yousafzai, Badar Sher Afghan, Yahya Khan Watanyar, Ismail Khukaley Khan, Ghairat Khan, Mazhar Azad and Jalalud Din Jalal; member of Swat Qaumi Jirga Haji Zahid Khan; PPP leader Iqbal Hussain Baley; and Awami National Party leader Abdullah Yousafzai addressed the protesters.

They said that the terrorists did not attack the police, rather they targeted all the Pakhtuns. They said that they considered it the genocide of Pakhtuns.

Political parties hold rallies in various areas to condemn terrorism

“We believe that the state and the government use terrorism as a weapon against Pakhtuns. The roots of terrorism exist in the interior and exterior policies, which must be changed immediately, otherwise Pakhtuns would stand united against these policies,” they said.

The speakers said that for the last 20 years, the unending wave of terrorism in Pakhtunkhwa did not end, but its intensity increased. “We are surprised that the terrorists target only Pakhtuns in the country,” they added.

They said that terrorists were targeting educational institutes, markets, mosques and police lines. “We are tired of burying dead bodies. We are not ready to lift more dead bodies. We understand which elements are behind the killings of Pakhtuns,” they added.

Meanwhile, Swat Olasi Pasoon held a protest march in Kabal to condemn Peshawar blast.

In Bajaur, the workers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz staged separate protest demonstrations against the Tuesday’s bombing at police lines mosque in Peshawar.

PTI workers held the demonstration in Laghari Bazaar in Mamund tehsil while the PML-N workers staged protest outside Bajaur Press Club in Khar.

Najibullah, Umar Said, Ikram Khan and others addressed the PTI demonstration and strongly condemned Peshawar blast. They showed sympathies with the families of the blast victims.

They described the killing of more than 100 people in the blast a great loss not only for their families but for the entire nation. They asked the government to take exemplary action against the perpetrators of the gruesome act and conduct fair investigation into the incident.

The participants of the PML-N demonstration also asked the government to take result-oriented action against militants and their facilitators across the country to avoid such deadliest attacks in future.

They urged the federal government to enforce National Action Plan. They also appealed to the leaders of all political and religious parties to join hands against terrorists.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2023