The protest by hundreds of policemen in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat against the recent spate of terror attacks on police personnel enters the second day, with the protesting policemen continuing to block the Indus Highway that links Peshawar with the port city of Karachi.
The protestors staged a sit-in at Tajazai Chowk, Lakki Marwat and alleged that the Pakistan army and its intelligence agencies were interfering in their daily work.
One of the protesting policemen said that if the army left this area, we would bring peace to the district in three months.
This is not the first time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that the police have protested against the killing of their colleagues and mounting insecurity in the region. Earlier, the policemen also staged protests after an explosion in the Peshawar police line killed dozens of policemen.
The Lakki Marwat district police protested at a time when four armed attacks were made on the police in the Lakki Marwat district in the last 24 hours killing four policemen and a brother of a police officer.
Attacks on police personnel in Lakki Marwat were carried out at such a time when the police killed Mullah Muhammad Ghulam, a commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, in an anti-militant operation in Norang area two days ago.
Rashid Khan, a policeman alleged that “everything that happens in Lakki Marwat is done by ISI, MI and the army”, adding that we will bring peace to Lakki Marwat district in three months.”
The Pakistan Army did not immediately respond to the accusations of the police officials. However, the protests against the military establishment by the Police came at a time when Pak Army Chief General Asim Munir praised the bravery and sacrifices of the people and the police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the war against terrorism.
Lakki Marwat district police officer Khalid Khan said that before the army stepped into the district, the policemen were safe. However, since the army started carrying out its military operations in the district, bombardment increased on Pakhtunkhwa policemen.
He said, “We are surprised that when we left the police station, the militants in advance knew about our movement and they targeted the police on the way. who informed these militants?”
He added, “In the past, police officers used to protect their subordinates but now the officers have no option but to see their colleagues dying and attend their funeral.
Zafar Mehmood, a police officer of Lakki Marwat district addressing the protesting policemen said that there are constant attacks on the police and we too are human beings and have families.
He added that today, the government also does not patronize us and the local people do not cooperate with on giving the inputs regarding militants.
Another Police Officer [SHO] Haider Khan said, “We are protesting for our safety and have no political agenda in it. We must be prepared for departmental action and actions will be taken against us for carrying these protests. We can be removed from the job or can be suspended.”
According to reports, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CTD Police said that till July 15 this year, 76 policemen were killed in armed attacks in the province.
According to CTD figures, 65 civilians including 29 FC personnel and seven members of other law enforcement agencies were killed in the armed attacks.
On September 5th, the spokesman of the Pakistan Army, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said that 193 army officers and soldiers have been killed in anti-terrorist operations in the last eight months of this year.
He said, “In the war against terrorism, the Pakistan Army, police and other law enforcement agencies conduct more than 130 operations every day, and the war will continue until the last terrorist is eliminated
