KHYBER
At least five people were killed and 16 others sustained injuries on Sunday when security forces allegedly opened fire on a peaceful protest in the Maidan area of Tirah valley in Khyber district, local sources said.
The sources said members of the Zakhakhel tribe, along with the relatives of a girl who had been killed a day earlier in a mortar shelling incident, gathered at front of the Bagh Army Brigade headquarters in Bagh Markaz inTirah valley, to record their protest.
The demonstrators were reportedly chanting slogans against the law enforcement agencies and demanding justice for the civilian casualties.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the protest was peaceful when the security forces allegedly opened fire on the crowd, leading to chaos and bloodshed. As a result of the firing, five people identified as Shakoor Khan, Ziaur Rehman, Hanat Shah, Akmal Khan, and Saeed Afridi lost their lives on the spot.
Sixteen others sustained bullet injuries and were identified as Sher Zaman, Akmal Khan, Khan Zeb, Abdul Haleem, Ayub Khan, Siraj Khan, Qasim Khan, Saeed Khan, Zartaj Khan, Baitullah, Aamir Hussain, Rehmanullah, Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Sadiq, Nazar Muhammad, and Abubakr.
The injured were immediately shifted to various hospitals in Peshawar for medical treatment. Hospital sources stated that the condition of several injured persons was critical.
Tension remained high in the area following the incident. Tribal elders and local residents strongly condemned the use of force on unarmed protestors and demanded an impartial inquiry into the killings. Calls for justice echoed across the region, with appeals made to both civil and military leadership to take immediate notice of the tragedy. No official statement had been issued by the security forces or the district administration till the filing of this report.
