Amidst the freezing weather and rain in South Waziristan on Wednesday, protesters blocked almost all of the tribal district’s roadways heading to various destinations.
The protesters gathered at Rustam Adda Bazaar in Wana, the tribal district capital of South Waziristan, to draw the attention of the government to bad law and order and terrorist acts. Their demonstration has been continuing for the last several days. They have blocked Wana-Angoor Adda Road, Wana-Tank Road and Wana-Razmak Road to protest the escalating incidences of target-killing, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, terrorism, militancy, and other crimes.
The protesters said that incidences of target killing, extortion, and kidnapping for ransom had increased alarmingly in recent months.
Thousands of residents, workers, and activists from nearly all political parties, rights campaigners, civil society members, physicians, attorneys, traders, and students from across South Waziristan are taking part in the sit-in to urge the restoration of long-term peace in the region.
The organizers threatened to move the protest sit-in to other locations if the government did not immediately adopt their 10-point agenda of demands.
They stated that routes for government officials would be closed and their movements restricted as a kind of pressure to settle the long-standing concerns of the locals regarding militancy, terrorism, and other horrible acts. They claimed that anarchy and increase in violence had prompted the locals to go to the streets.
Meanwhile, from the beginning of the protest movement, all shops, marketplaces, gas stations, and hotels in Wana have been shuttered. The shops have pulled down their shutters in protest of subversion and the unpredictable security situation in South Waziristan.
The protesters are also demanding the safe release of Jamshed Wazir, a trader kidnapped by armed men from Wana Bazaar a month ago.
Despite the terrible weather, the demonstrators remained out in the open and delivered a list of demands to the local authorities. They claimed that it appeared the government was uninterested in meeting the demands.
Journalist’s house attacked
Meanwhile, some unidentified persons attacked the house of a Parachinar-based senior journalist, Mohammad Ali Turi with a grenade followed an attempt of putting it on fire, police said on Wednesday.
Mohammad Ali Turi is the producer of a local radio and a private TV channel. The attack damaged different sections of the house including rooms, beside damaging doors, windowpanes and a vehicle parked inside the house. However, his family remained safe and unhurt.
