Killing of 15: Tense calm prevails in Tank amid sit-in

TANK: The tense calm prevailed in the Tank district on Friday amid sit-in by the relatives of the 15 slain persons who were killed a day earlier.

The relatives of the 10 slain persons who were killed in attack on a passenger van and local people staged sit-in since Thursday night to demand arrest of the killers. Eyewitnesses said that after the deadly clash between two rival groups in Amakhel village in which at least 14 persons were killed at separate places, the relatives shifted the bodies of their dears to the District Headquarters Hospital in Tank. "They staged a protest on the premises of the hospital against the insufficient facilities and health services by smashing the window pans and ransacking the furniture," an eyewitness said.

They said the relatives staged 'sit-in' at the Kashmir Chowk in Tank against the failure of the government to arrest the accused involved in the gruesome murder of the innocent villagers who had nothing to do with the groups rivalry.

Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Dera Ismail Khan, Feroz Shah, arrived in Tank to talk to the relatives of the victims and assured them that the police would leave no stone unturned to arrest the accused behind the murder of the innocent villagers.

The RPO also visited the Mullazai Police Station where he directed the police to register the case against the ringleader, Inam Marwat, and his six accomplices under relevant sections of the law, including 7 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

The sources quoted the RPO as saying that nobody came forward to register the case for fear but he made it clear that the police would pursue the case. The RPO said that the relatives of the victims killed in the coach attack would be given 'Shuhada' package. According to the tribal custom, the house of the ringleader, Inam Marwat, would be demolished in view of the tribal culture if he failed to surrender within five days. Thereafter, the relatives called off the sit-in and shifted the bodies of the victims to the native village for burial.