Two men killed in clash with Mohmand Levies

GHALLANAI: Two persons were killed in a clash between Levies personnel and residents in the jurisdiction of upper Halimzai tehsil in Mohmand Agency on Thursday, eyewitnesses and sources said.

The clash took place when the tribesmen tried to halt construction work on an under-construction Link Road in Speen Kor area of upper Halimzai tehsil.The Levies personnel were accompanying officials of the political administration to talk to the enraged residents of the area and persuade them not to stop the work on the road.

However, the negotiations between the officials and locals failed and the situation became tense.To disperse the angry residents, the Levies personnel resorted to firing.  One Rahimdad Khan and his son Dildar Khan were killed in the firing.

The sources added that a Levies member was taken hostage by the local. He was later released due to the intervention of a jirga of local elders.The political administration registered a case regarding the incident and started its investigation.

Shah Nawaz Khan, brother of the deceased Rahimdad told The News that the political administration had changed the original route of the road and this was unacceptable to the residents. He said this was the reason that the locals had staged protest and were trying to halt the construction of the road. Earlier, a jirga had also failed to persuade the political administration to stick to the original alignment of the road.