1 killed, 16 injured in firing on anti-militant rally in NW Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - At least one person was killed and 16 others wounded in firing on a massive protest rally against militants in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, official and locals said on Friday.

Thousands of locals held a massive rally in the Bannu district against the presence of militants in the area and demanded the government expel them from the region.

"One person was killed and 16 others were injured in security forces' firing on the rally," Abdul Ghafar Qureshi, leader of the protesters, told reporters.

However, officials said that protesters pelted stones at a security checkpost and they opened aerial firing to disperse them.

"The protesters attacked the checkpost while throwing stones and the security forces didn't target anyone but fired in the air to disperse the mob," a local administration official told Anadolu over phone on the condition of anonymity.

But the protesters accused the security forces of firing on people.

On Tuesday, Pakistan's military said that a group of heavily-armed militants stormed the cantonment area in the Bannu district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in early hours of Monday before a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall of the area, killing eight soldiers.

Hours after, another group of terrorists stormed a health facility in the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday late night, and opened "indiscriminate" firing, killing five civilians.

Following these attacks, local political leaders, traders and civil society announced holding a peaceful rally on Friday.

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the launch of a "reinvigorated" national counter-terrorism campaign to "eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country."

However, jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party members rejected the operation Azm-e-Istehkam (determination for durability) and said they will "not allow anyone to bring war in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province."

To fight the menace of terrorism, Pakistan launched several military operations since 2000, including Raddul Fasad and Zarb-e-Azb since 2014

Islamabad accuses "Afghanistan-based" TTP militants of carrying out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul rejects the allegation.

On Wednesday, Pakistan summoned the Afghanistan's deputy head of mission in Islamabad to lodge a protest over a gun-and-bomb attack that killed 8 army troops in Bannu and delivered a "strong" demarche over the deadly militant attack.

Pakistan holds "Afghanistan-based" Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials in multiple militant attacks inside the country in recent months.

Meanwhile, at least two army and police personnel were killed and three others injured in terror attacks in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.

According to police, terrorists carried out attacks on security checkposts in Takhat Bhai area of district Mardan and Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said actions against the terrorists will continue till their elimination.