Peshawar: Pakistani forces today killed and injured several civilians by firing at a peaceful march in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which was organised against the ongoing military operation in the Pashtun-dominated Province.
The protest, in which lakhs of people participated, was organised to register opposition to the military operation ‘Azm-e-Ishtekam’ launched by the Pakistan Army on June 22 and the associated bloodshed it is causing in the region.
While the people were protesting peacefully, the Pakistani forces fired at them in Bannu district.
The local people have been saying that the Army operation has resulted in militarisation and bloodshed in the Province.
The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa say that under the garb of the ‘anti-terrorism operation’, the Pakistani military indulges in widespread abuses and atrocities against the common civilians.
Significantly, the Provincial government of Khyber Pakthunkhwa was not taken into confidence regarding the decision to launch the military operation.
Reflecting the anger in the region, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly today adopted a resolution, asking the Federal Pakistan government to take the Provincial Assembly into confidence before launching any military operation.
Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is supposed to be the target of the military operation, slammed the Pakistani forces for firing at the peaceful rally, saying “many protesters were martyred and many were injured”.
In a statement, the TTP said, “this is not the first incident in which the security forces have hit the public with bullets and it is not the last.”
It said the Pakistani military will continue to subject the people to oppression “for the sake of dollars”.
To stop such incidents, “the entire Pakistani nation needs to stand up,” said the statement issued by TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani.
