PESHAWAR: Amid the ongoing protests by police personnel in three districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province’s inspector general of police, chief Akhtar Hayat Khan, on Thursday insisted that some troublemakers were exploiting the recent martyrdom of police officials for their own purposes.

The police chief told reporters here that the police, intelligence agencies and security forces along with the people were working together to defeat terrorism, leading to successes for law enforcement.

He, however, said “troublemakers” were unhappy with that collaboration and therefore, they’re using the recent attacks on police to serve their ends.

Mr Hayat said that police were a disciplined force and there were proper channels available to them to raise grievances.

He said under the rules, punitive action was taken against violators of the force’s discipline.

After Lakki, Bannu and Bajaur also witness protests by policemen against targeted killings

The IGP said road closures were inconveniencing people but at the same time, many people were trying to use protests by police personnel to serve their ends.

He said operations against terrorism and collaboration between law enforcement agencies would continue.

“There is no success against terrorism without collaboration among law-enforcement agencies,” he said.

Mr Hayat said the police were also trying to engage with the protesting cops through local elders and address their legitimate grievances.

He said southern divisions of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan were hit by militant attacks.

“Attacks have reduced in the central and Malakand divisions, with the exception of intermittent attacks in Bajaur and Khyber. However, the intensity of militant attacks is higher in southern parts of the province, including Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and Tank districts,” he said.

He said law-enforcement personnel had killed two top militant commanders in Dera Ismail Khan and one each in Tank and Lakki Marwat.

The IGP said the police department, in order to address personnel shortage, was hiring over 500 personnel each for Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat districts, and 300 for Tank district.

He also said the government was providing funding to police for the armor plating of vehicles and to purchase weapons, bulletproof vests, helmets and other equipment.

Protests erupt in Bannu, Bajaur

Meanwhile, protests by the police personnel against attacks on them erupted in Bannu and Bajaur districts after Lakki Marwat, where such a protest has been happening for several days.

In Bannu, the killing of a policeman by armed men sparked a protest on Thursday as his colleagues and traders held a protest demonstration and blocked the Bannu-Miramshah Road to traffic.

However, police claimed to have killed the assailants in an encounter.

A police official told Dawn that constable Jan Alam Khan was going to the Domel area to join his duty of escorting a polio team when one armed motorcyclists attacked him on the Bannu-Kohat road.

He said that the cop embraced martyrdom and his body was shifted to the hospital.

After the attack, a large police contingent reached the area and launched a search for the assailants, he said.

He said that police engaged miscreants leading to an intense gun battle, which left one of the assailants dead, while his accomplice escaped.

The police officials, in plainclothes, took to the streets to record protest against the killing. Local traders observed a shutter down strike and joined the protesters.

They gathered at Maulana Abdul Sattar Shah Bukhari Shah Chowk and closed the Bannu-Miramshah Road suspending traffic.

DDAC chairman Zahidullah Khan, Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Nasir Khan Bangash, Anjuman-i-Tajiran president Pir Gul Manzoor Shah, general secretary Farman Niaz, tehsil council chairman Junaid Rashid, and police officials spoke on the occasion.

They said the law-enforcement agencies had failed to eliminate armed groups and restore lasting peace in the district.

The speakers said the chief minister and the apex committee had assured elders of practical and stringent measures to eliminate armed groups and restore peace, but to no avail.

They said that targeting of policemen by armed men had become common but such attacks were not acceptable anymore.

The speakers demanded formation of a joint investigation team to probe attacks and bring perpetrators to justice.

A government team comprising Bannu DPO Ziauddin Ahmed, SP Ihsanuddin and assistant commissioner Khayyam Nasir held negotiations with the protesters’ representatives and promised early resolution to their problems. However, protesters insisted they would continue the protest sit-in for the next 24 hours.

In Lakki Marwat, the protest sit-in by the police officials against such attacks entered the fourth day on Thursday.

The policemen, who were in civvies and carried official rifles, blocked the busy Peshawar-Karachi Highway at the Lt Adnan Shaheed Chowk in Tajazai area.

Along with the busy highway, other roads connecting Lakki Marwat with Peshawar and Bannu also remain closed to traffic.

Many policemen left their duty stations, including police stations, police posts and other places, and joined the protest.

Since the start of agitation on Monday, the traffic wardens have not been seen on duty in Lakki Marwat and Serai Naurang, causing a traffic mess in both towns.

The speakers, including former Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, JUI-F leader Pir Fawad Raza Zakori and other political leaders, expressed solidarity with the protesters.

Residents from Takhtikhel, Paharkhel, Haramatala, Bitanni, Mela Mandrakhel, Zangikhel and other areas also visited the protest camp and expressed solidarity with police officials. Day and night time meals for the protesters were also arranged by the residents of some villages.

The closure of roads added to the troubles of people travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces. Goods transport vehicles remained stranded along the highway on both sides of the protest camp.

Senior police officials and elders of Marwat Qaumi Jirga are reportedly devising a strategy to pursue protesters to give dialogue a chance.

Police personnel in Bajaur tribal district on Thursday boycotted anti-polio campaign against the killing of their colleague in Wednesday’s attack on a polio team.

They also warned they would quit their jobs if their demands were not met in five days.

Scores of police personnel attended the gathering that later turned into a sit-in.

The protesting police personnel who set up a tent at the sit-in place, condemned the killing of their colleague, Luqman Khan, 33, in police attack in the mountainous Mala Said Banda area of Salarzai tehsil.

The protesters said no policeman would take part in the anti-polio campaign until attackers were arrested.

Several senior police officials pointed out that scores of personnel were killed in such attacks over the last several years, but neither the assailants were arrested nor had the government compensated families of the martyrs to the disappointment of the entire police force.

The speakers announced that the boycott of anti-polio drive would continue until the perpetrators of Wednesday’s attack on polio team were arrested.

Several political and social leaders and elders showed up to express solidarity with protesters.

Local JUI-F emir Maulana Abdur Rasheed said his party supported the police’s demands.

The protesters ended the sit-in after district police Officer Waqas Rafique visited them.

He declared most of their demands legitimate and promised immediate action on them.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2024