LAKKI MARWAT: Police fired teargas shells to disperse the Janikhel tribesmen after they began their march towards Islamabad along with bodies of four teenage boys on Sunday.

The boys, aged 13 to 17, identified as Ahmadullah, Mohammad Rahim, Razamullah and Atifullah, were killed by unidentified assailants and their bodies were found buried in a field a week ago. The boys had been missing for three weeks.

The heirs and tribesmen placed the bodies in front of a police station in the Janikhel area and staged a sit-in. The protest continued for seven days during which political and social activists participated in the sit-in to express solidarity with the protesters.

A government team, headed by Provincial Minister Malik Shah Mohammad Khan, who belongs to the area, tried to convince the protesters to call off the sit-in and bury the deceased but to no avail.

Police fire teargas shells to stop protesters carrying teenagers’ bodies

Later, the local administration sought help from ulema to convince the protesters to end the agitation. Prominent religious scholars of Bannu district highlighted the importance of immediate burial of the dead in the light of Islamic teachings during talks with the tribal elders.

The tribal elders, however, announced taking the coffins to Islamabad when negotiations with religious scholars failed.

Sources said that police blocked different roads linking the Janikhel area to Bannu and other parts of the country through Indus Highway. A large numbers of protesters carrying black flags put the coffins on pick-up trucks while marching on foot, they added.

Police in the neighbouring Lakki Marwat and Karak districts were also put on alert to prevent the protesters from moving ahead. Teargas shells were fired at the protesters when they reached Tochi Bridge near Bannu.

An official said that protesters started the march in the morning and used different routes. He said the use of teargas by the police forced the protesters to stop for several hours but later they succeeded to cross the bridge.

“Now the protesters are at a distance of a few kilometres from Bannu city,” he said.

A resident of Janikhel said that march was peaceful in the start but the protesters faced resistance from police when they reached Tochi Bridge.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Social Welfare Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan along with elders of Marwat tribe also reached Janikhel on Sunday and held talks with tribal chiefs to resolve the issue amicably. Former nazims Habibur Rehman, Shafqatullah Khan and Akram Khan and tribal elder Malik Meer Nawaz Khan Zangikhel accompanied him.

The minister told the elders that the entire Marwat tribe shared grief of the bereaved families.

“A jirga comprising Marwat elders wants a suitable and amicable solution to the issue,” he said, adding that he would convey the legitimate demands of the protesters to Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and Prime Minister Imran Khan.

“The Marwats and Banochis are neighbours and they have brotherly ties besides they always help each other in the time of distress,” said the minister. He urged the Janikhel elders to perform burial of the deceased and give a positive response to the jirga of Marwat tribe.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan along with provincial ministers Ziaullah Bangash and Kamran Bangash also reached Bannu in the afternoon. He is likely to meet Janikhel elders to resolve the issue.

Bilawal demands justice for victims

Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has condemned the reported arrest of MNA Mohsin Dawar and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement chief Manzoor Pashtun and demanded that the killers of the Janikhel teenagers should be brought to justice.

In a statement, he said that it was unfortunate that the protesters were being gagged instead of showing sympathy with the victims.

Meanwhile, National Party president of Punjab chapter Ayub Malik has condemned the attitude of the government towards the protesters.

“The protesters have been sitting there for more than four days, protesting the killing of four innocent boys, who first went missing and then their mutilated bodies were found. The people of Banu are simply demanding that the government should hold an enquiry into the killing of these four boys,” he said in a statement.

Mr Malik said that instead of carrying out any enquiry into the incident, the administration started threatening protesters. He accused the government of using fascist tactics to intimidate the protesters.

“To take out a procession or protest against any injustice is the constitutional and democratic right of every Pakistani,” he said.

He also condemned the arrest of MNA Mohsin Dawar and Manzoor Pashtun.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2021