Residents block road against police firing on women in Karak

KARAK: The residents of Tarkha Koi on Wednesday blocked the Indus Highway to protest the alleged firing by the police and Levies force personnel on the women, who were staging a rally against the disconnection of illegal gas connections.

The officials of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) along with the police and Levies force personnel had launched operation against the illegal gas connections in Tarkha Koi area of Karak tehsil.

The residents had got the illegal gas connections from the main transmission line to Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of the country.

The women took to streets in protest against the disconnection of the illegal gas lines.

The police and Levies force allegedly opened fire on the protesting women. However, no casualty was reported.

The police action infuriated the residents and they started pelting personnel and the vehicles of SNGPL with the stones.

The window panes of the vehicles damaged while the SNGPL personnel ran for shelter.

After the firing incident, a large number of local people took to streets and marched to Indus Highway and blocked it for several hours.

The passenger coaches used alternate routes to reach their destinations.

Awami National Party district president Shah Nawaz, local rights activists Gul Sahib Khan and Gul Zaib addressed the protesting residents.

They alleged that the additional assistant commissioner had ordered firing on the women and demanded his transfer from Karak forthwith.

They also asked the authorities to register a case against the personnel who had opened firing on the armless people, particularly the women. Later, the protestors dispersed peacefully.