KHYBER: The police resorted to firing in the air and used teargas to disperse tribesmen, who were protesting in Landi Kotal on Monday against the construction of a customs terminal on a disputed land at Torkham border.

The police said two of their colleagues were injured during a scuffle with the demonstrators near the Machni checkpost when they tried to stop the tribesmen from going to the border to forcefully stop construction work on the terminal.

Earlier, scores of baton-wielding Khugakhel tribesmen gathered at the Torkham by-pass intersection and blocked the main road leading to the border.

The road blockade, which continued till late on Monday, caused suspension of bilateral trade and pedestrian movement at Torkham.

The protesters chanted slogans against the National Logistics Cell for allegedly occupying additional land for construction of customs terminal.

A heavy contingent of police was also deployed at the site of the protest to avoid any untoward incident.

Mufti Ejaz Shinwari, a Khugakhel elder, while addressing the protesters said they had started the protest to stop NLC from any further construction on the disputed land.

He said the Khugakhel tribe had voluntarily committed its 300 kanals of collective land at Torkham for construction of the customs terminal through an agreement, but the NLC had violated the accord by forcefully occupying extra land without taking them into confidence.

He said the protest would continue till a new agreement was signed with the tribesmen about utilisation of their property and payment of adequate compensation to them.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2022