LAKKI MARWAT: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers continued protesting against what they said the skewed poll results on the fifth consecutive day in Bannu on Tuesday.

The protesters kept the main arteries closed for vehicular traffic except for ambulances. They carried party flags and burnt old tyres.

The agitation by PTI workers against manipulation in election results of two provincial constituencies, including PK-101, Bannu-III, and PK-102, Bannu-IV, also caused closure of educational institutions, including colleges and universities.

The protesting workers led by Malik Yasir Khan, son of former MNA late Malik Nasir Khan, and former provincial transport minister Malik Shah Mohammad Khan, staged sit-ins at Dwaghora point on Bannu-Kohat Road and at Bakkakhel on Bannu-Miramshah Road.

Two other groups of agitators led by MNA-elect Maulana Naseem Ali Shah and MPA-elect Malik Pakhtunyar closed Bannu-DI Khan Road and a link road connecting Bannu with Peshawar-Karachi highway.

The PTI leaders alleged that election results of both the provincial assembly constituencies were changed at the behest of their political opponents so as to pave the way for their victory.

They also alleged that polling personnel changed the results in Form -45 under the supervision of relevant returning officers. They demanded accountability of polling staff and said that as per local traditions the PTI activists and leaders would also visit their houses to lodge a complaint with them regarding injustices they meted out to the party-backed candidates.

They claimed that they had evidence of rigging and would produce the same at the proper forum.

The protesters said they would continue their sit-ins until their ‘genuine’ demands were accepted.

REED PLANTS BURNT: Fires burnt to ashes dry reed plants in Ahmadkhel and Gandi Khankhel areas of Lakki Marwat district, a Rescue 1122 official said on Tuesday.

He said the reed plants dumped near houses caught fire suddenly, prompting the firefighters to rush to the areas.

He said teams of firefighters along with fire trucks were dispatched to the areas when the control room received information about the incidents.

“The firefighters took over an hour to douse the fire,” he claimed, saying that the dumps of reed plants were destroyed.

Reed plants grown locally are dried up and used as fuel in houses mostly in rural areas of the district.

After harvesting the crop farmers make bundles of reed plants and dump them in open spaces outside their houses.

Being used as construction material and in great demand for basket and mat making and other household articles, these plants are also a main source of livelihood for the rural population.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2024