By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
LANDIKOTAL: Sultankhel residents on Monday staged a protest in Landikotal bazaar to record their protest against the alleged unlawful arrest of social activist and Human Rights Commission representative Samiullah Afridi by Landikotal police and demanded his release forthwith.
Carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans against arrest, the protesters demanded Afridi’s immediate release and the withdrawal of what they called “fabricated charges.”
Local elders and civil society members who joined the demonstration described the arrest as a violation of basic rights and an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
The demonstrators threatened to stage demonstrations and sit-ins in the coming days if Samiullah Afridi was not freed. Relatives of Afridi alleged that police had not provided them with an arrest warrant or legal documentation, which they said was against the law.
Speakers appealed to the deputy commissioner of Khyber and the Inspector General of Police to intervene immediately.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Landikotal Ameer Murad Hussain Afridi condemned the arrest and said the party would not remain silent against what he termed the misuse of law by the police.
The incident has once again highlighted growing concerns over shrinking space for human rights defenders and journalists in the tribal districts.
