In Pakistan’s North Waziristan, protests against the targeted killings have been going on for over the 23rd day. The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) stated on Twitter that North Waziristan’s residents had exposed the fake encounter farce. Furthermore, with its call for a probe into flagrant human rights violations committed by the Army, PTM, a rights-based resistance organisation in Pakistan that has been critical of state policies in the tribal belt, has raised eyebrows within the Pakistani military.
On Twitter, PTM wrote, “Protest movement continues on 23rd day in North Waziristan against target killings. Locals had busted the fake / staged security situation drama in North Waziristan & deep state role in target killings”.
As a number of individuals died in the targeted killings, protests against the district’s increasing number of such occurrences had started. As per an ANI report, on August 4, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, blocked roadways, stopped traffic for several hours, and burned old tyres. locals in the area blocked down the Bannu-Miramshah Road, Thall-Mirali Road, Ghulam Khan Road, Razmak Road, and Datakhel Road with boulders under the direction of a fifty-member committee.
On the order of a jirga of the Uthmanzai tribe, commercial centres, marketplaces, and businesses were shut down in Miramshah, Mirali, and other minor towns in the area, according to the Dawn report.
Locals protesting against targeted killings and lawlessness
The locals of Eidak village first planned the protests, but they eventually spread to the entire region. It is pertinent to mention that senior district administrators also met with tribal elders several times in an effort to convince them to end the demonstrations on Wednesday. According to committee leader Malik Rab Nawaz, the North Waziristan Political Alliance, transporters, and other organisations ‘fully’ supported the demonstration.
Apart from this, in July, to protest the targeted killings and lawlessness in the region, people in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region organised a sit-in and blocked the major road linking Miramshah with other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to the Dawn report, the Dawar and Ahmadzai Wazir tribes of North Waziristan sprung from the Uthmanzai tribe, which is where the protest movement has its origins.
They have been urging the authorities to act to stop the target murderers and keep the neighbourhood peaceful.
Notably, North Waziristan has seen several of these executions over the previous few months. In the past, employees of the Utmanzai and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan have also demonstrated against the killing of their local leaders and the general lawlessness in the region.