Ashrafuddin Pirzada
BARA: Thousands of people on Thursday staged a protest demonstration at the Khyber Chowk in Bara Bazaar and expressed their anger against the arrest of a private college principal in Bara tehsil in district Khyber.
Elders, political party leaders, including Bara Seyasi Ettehad president Shireen Afridi, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer for Khyber district Shah Faisal Afridi, Abdul Mateen Afridi, PPP leader Dr Sher Shah Afridi, Khyber Union President Murad Saqi Afridi, PTM leader Dr Mushraq, PMLN leader Zahir Shah Afridi, local people and thousands of school students attended the protest.
The speakers expressed concern over the arrest and said that the police had registered fake cases against Khan Wali Afridi, the principal of Iqra School and College of Bara.
They said that Khan Wali Afridi was the strong voice in the tribal belt and head of an educational institution and his arrest was bound to affect the students.
The speakers added that the government had been launching operations against the terrorists in Tirah Valley. Still, the drone attacks and mortar shellings victimized dozens of innocent local children and other people.
They said that Khan Wali Afridi was a strong voice of the innocent tribal people who had been suffering in fake militancy for 20 years in the Khyber district.
“We are with Khan Wali Afridi but he is not alone. Bara Seyasi Ittehad and a strong organization of 80 schools and thousands of students stand by him,” said Shireen Afridi president of Bara Seyasi Ittehad.
He said that tribal people particularly Khyber district had rejected fake military operations and militancy.
The President added the families of different areas of the Khyber district had not reconstructed their homes and business markets yet.
“It is injustice with the tribal elders and political leaders who raise their voice against the military operations and law-in-enforcement agencies then they are arrested by police and other institutions,” he revealed.
Another political leader Zahir Shah said that tribal people had rendered matchless sacrifices for the sake of the country but the government had failed to restore peace to the Khyber district, particularly in Tirah Valley.
“We want the government and law-in-enforcement agencies to promote peace and harmony while the tribal belt has already suffered in military operations and unrest due to wrong policies,” he maintained, adding that Khan Wali is a patriotic personality.
He said that the elders should prepare a joint strategy to prevent terrorist incidents and end the ongoing unrest.
The speakers urged the tribal people to show unity to prevent such incidents in future.
