Tribesmen protest against NLC in Landikotal

LANDIKOTAL: The tribesmen belonging to the Khugakhel Shinwari tribe and political activists staged demonstration against the National Logistics Cell (NLC) and Frontier Corps (FC) for alleged occupation of their land at the border town of Torkham.

The protesters led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Fata general secretary Mufti Muhammad Ejaz Shinwari, Torkham Clearing Agents Association chairman Mirajuddin Shinwari and Qari Nazeem Gul Khugakhel chanted slogans against the NLC and FC.

Speaking on the occasion, they said that about 30,000 poor Khugakhel tribesmen were deprived of daily-wage jobs at Torkham. They said they had inherited the Torkham land from their forefathers and were its real owners.

Mufti Ejaz Shinwari said the Khugakhel tribe willingly leased a piece of their Torkham property to NLC last year. However, he alleged that the NLC was now violating the agreement and gradually occupying the rest of their property in Torkham.

Mirajuddin Shinwari said they informed NLC officials about their reservations but their voice was not heard. He said NLC erected several barriers on the roads that were earlier used by local residents and transporters and this created hurdles for them at Torkham. Qari Nazeem Gul Khugakhel said that dozens of shops and hotels were closed that deprived people of their means of livelihood.

He said NLC had started construction work on their land in violation of its agreement with Khugakhel tribe. The protestors alleged that NCL officials and other employees misbehaved with passengers and transporters. They said it was not the NLC domain to search passengers' luggage and check passports of commuters coming from Afghanistan.

The Khugakhel tribesmen threatened to stage shutter down strike in Landikotal and Torkham bazaars and stop import and export clearance at Torkham border if their demands were not accepted. They also announced to stage protest sit-in near the Governor's House in Peshawar if the NCL did not stop construction work on their land in Torkham.