LAKKI MARWAT: Police detained over a dozen armed suspects during a grand clean-up operation targeting “good Taliban” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Wednesday. The development comes as the provincial apex committee is set to meet today (Thursday) to address the demands of a 40-member jirga.

Simultaneously, a sit-in continued for the fifth consecutive day in the southern district of Bannu, with demonstrators calling for the restoration of peace and indiscriminate action against armed groups.

A police official said the operation began after sub-divisional police officers and station house officers were given the green signal to crack down on armed men in their jurisdictions.

“Law enforcement raided three locations in the southern district, rounding up 17 suspects,” the official said, adding that police seized arms and ammunition and impounded their vehicles.

The suspects, along with their weapons and vehicles, have been shifted to local police stations for interrogation.

“We are in the process of identifying the arrested men and determining their involvement in any terrorism-related or subversive activities,” the official added. Police experts are also investigating the motives behind their presence in the area.

The operation, which involved a large police contingent, armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and Elite Force commandos, resulted in the elimination of armed suspects’ hideouts.

A video circulating on social media showed police officers apprehending armed suspects and escorting them to police vans. Residents, upon learning of the police action, emerged from their homes and chanted slogans in favour of police officials.

“Such actions not only enhance public trust in law enforcement agencies but also improve law and order in the district,” a resident said.

The police action followed a 40-member Bannu Aman Jirga’s presentation of a 16-point demand list, including measures against armed groups, to Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur in Peshawar.

The jirga’s demands included the elimination of centres of surrendered Taliban fighters, their patrols and pickets, and granting the police a free hand to act against terrorists.

Bannu sit-in

Meanwhile, a protest sit-in led by former tehsil nazims Fida Muhammad Khan and Engineer Malik Ihsan, along with other local leaders, entered its fifth day on Wednesday, with many people camped at Maulana Abdul Sattar Shah Chowk in Bannu city.

The district health department also set up a free medical camp at the protest site, while Rescue 1122 personnel provided medical and other services.

Bannu Chamber of Com­merce and Industry President Nasir Bangash emphasised that the sit-in would continue until Friday (tomorrow), when Mr Gandapur is expected to visit the district.

The provincial apex committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss the 16-point demands of the Bannu Aman Jirga and the province’s security situation. Five members of the Bannu jirga are also set to attend the apex committee meeting.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024