Hundreds of tribesmen hailing from Khyber district on Tuesday continued a demonstration against the proposed deployment of police force in the region following the merger of former tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Earlier, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rahim Hussain had arrived on a day-long visit to Khyber for inspection of several sites for establishment of police stations.
Following his visit, local tribal elders blocked Pak-Afghan Highway at various places near Jamrud and Landi Kotal towns to protest against his proposal.
Similarly, scores of elders also blocked a main highway at Bab-e-Khyber and Takia areas for an hour owing to which several commuters and transporters faced difficulties.
A notable tribesman Malik Khalid Khan Afridi told the media that they had a consultative meeting with KP Governor Shah Farman the day before, and he had assured them that reforms in the tribal region would be materialised after consultation with tribal elders, however authorities have initiated reforms without taking them into confidence.
Meanwhile, he appealed to the provincial government to launch development projects in the region on the priority basis in order to remove a ‘sense of deprivation’ from local tribesmen.
Moreover, he warned that any decision without consulting tribal elders would be strongly opposed by them.
Published in Daily Times, October 31st 2018.
