Bajaur Youth Jirga for end to target-killings

KHAR: The Bajaur Youth Jirga on Monday urged the government and its law-enforcement agencies to take pragmatic steps for halting target killings and arresting the accused involved in the heinous crimes in the district.

Speaking at a press conference at the Bajaur Press Club, the jirga’s chairman Wajid Ali said they would launch a protest campaign if the government failed to stop the target killings in the district. Javed Tandar, the founding member of Bajaur Youth Jirga, vice-chairman Ubaidullah, former chairman Farmanullah, media coordinator Maulana Sanaullah and others were also present on the occasion.

The jirga office-bearers demanded an impartial probe into the alleged killing of a youth from Bajaur, Zahid Khan, in the Kotli prison in Azad Kashmir. Presenting a charter of demands, they said that the government must fulfill the promises made at the time of the merger of the tribal districts with KP about the Levies force, recruitment of the wards of martyred police personnel and other facilities.

The jirga asked the government to provide internet facility so the students from the tribal areas are able to take online classes. Wajid Ali said the residents of Bajaur were peace-loving and patriotic but they were being subjected to target killings and violence as the government had left them at the mercy of criminals. He urged the district administration, the police and other law-enforcing agencies to take the criminals to task and award them exemplary punishment. Javed Tandar blasted the administration of District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, for non-availability of oxygen and other necessary equipment at the hospital.

He said the authorities were involved in blame-game to shift the responsibility to one another for failure to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. A jirga activist Mian Ismail said the government had made promises with the people of Bajaur that local youth would be recruited on the vacant posts in the district but now the authorities had appointed 39 outsiders in the police.