‘Torching ambulance, attacking police’: 16 Maliks, elders sent to police lock-up

WANA: For the first time after the merger of erstwhile Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the police arrested 16 prominent elders and Maliks in the ongoing crackdown launched against the Ahmadzai Wazir tribes and put in the lock-up for torching an ambulance and firing on a police party in South Waziristan tribal district on Tuesday.

District Police Officer Shaukat Ali said that the crackdown was going on and the remaining accused would be arrested soon.

He claimed that the maliks and elders were also raising lashkar to torch the home of station house officer of Azam Warsak Police Station, as he had registered cases against them for setting an official ambulance on fire and firing on a police party.

He said that the armed lashkar of Zalikhel and Dotani tribes during the land dispute in Karkanra area in Wana tehsil had set a government ambulance on fire in Speen area and attacked a police party.

He said that cases were registered against the tribal elders and maliks as the armed lashkar of the two tribes had challenged the writ of the government. Some of the accused were identified as Malik Saeedullah, Raz Muhammad, Malik Hanan, Malik Sardar Ali, Malik Albogh, Marghai Wazir, Taweez Khan, Nazir Khan, Noor Khan, Malik Mirdil Khan and others.

The DPO warned that strict action would be taken against those challenging the state writ and attacking police or government installations. Meanwhile, Malik Hazrat Khan Wazir alleged that the SHO of Azam Warsak Police Station was a drug addict and that he had registered fabricated cases to implicate the elders and maliks. He demanded the government to sack him forthwith or else his ‘illegal’ actions would create a law and order situation in the district.