Pakistan: Protest erupts across KP over murder of school van driver

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], October 12 (ANI): Protest across various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa erupted on Tuesday van driver was shot dead and two schoolchildren injured in a targeted attack on Monday morning in the Gulibagh area of Charbagh tehsil.
Thousands rallied in Mingora, Haripur, and Battagram in solidarity with the people of Swat, reported Dawn.
Owners and teachers of various private educational institutions in Haripur staged a protest demonstration outside the press club. They were carrying placards and banners inscribed with demands for early arrest of the attackers and restoration of peace in Swat and other areas of KP.
Students and teachers here held a rally on the main Karakoram Highway to condemn the rising incidents of militancy in Swat. The rally was held on the call of the Private Education Network Battagram chapter.
The family of a school van driver, killed in a gun attack on Monday, ended their over 40-hour protest following successful negotiations with the administration and buried his body.
The incident sparked anger and protests across the district, after which students and teachers of private schools joined hands with the civil society and staged a protest at Nishat Chowk.
Earlier, the driver’s family and fellow villagers had placed his body on the main road and staged a sit-in at Gulibagh, demanding the arrest of the culprits, reported Dawn.
Mingora echoed with slogans of “No more terrorism” and “We demand peace from the state” on Tuesday as hundreds of people took to the streets against the recent incidents of terrorism in the district.
They demanded the government arrest the attackers immediately, warning that otherwise they would march on the federal capital, reported Dawn.
The mammoth rally in Mingora was organized by Swat Olasi Pasoon and attended by thousands of people, including civil society members, students, teachers, lawyers, doctors, transporters, and youth.
Prominent among the participants were Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement chief Manzoor Pashteen, Swat Olasi Pasoon President Fawad Khan, veteran politician Afrasiab Khattak, Awami National Party (ANP) KP President Aimal Wali Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, ANP parliamentary leader in the KP Assembly Sardar Hussain Babak, Mingora city Mayor Shahid Khan and other elders of Swat and KP.
The speakers said that once again, the hard-earned peace in Swat and other parts of KP was being disturbed, but this time Pashtuns would not be deceived, nor would they allow any elements or hidden hands to install terrorists on their lands, reported Dawn.
“Every citizen of Pakistan has the constitutional right to safety ensured by the state. Unluckily, despite a massive defence budget, the state has failed to ensure peace here,” Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan said in his speech.
He remarked that if the security forces and the state failed to ensure peace and stability in Swat, the people of KP would take matters into their own hands.
Manzoor Pashteen said it was ironic that despite the presence of security forces and cantonments, the Taliban managed to enter Swat and targeted killings and fake encounters had resumed, reported Dawn.
“The people of Swat have already witnessed bloodshed when children saw their fathers’ bodies, people of Swat were disgraced at check-posts from 2007-09; they were displaced, ruthlessly killed and their properties destroyed,” he remarked.
Sardar Babak said the people of KP were surprised at the silence of the administration, police and courts over the mayhem in Swat and other parts of the province. (ANI)