Tribesmen block highway in KP's Khyber in protest of targeted killings

KHYBER: Enraged Zakhakhel tribesmen blocked the main highway leading to Torkham on Saturday, announcing picking up arms in self-defence after two men were killed in a targeted killing incident late on Friday evening. Headed by a local tribal elder, Malak Abdullah Khan, the protesters — including scores of political party activists, civic society members and local tribesmen — announced that armed tribesmen would be assigned the responsibility of patrolling local areas. They also announced a complete ban on motorcycle riding and barred all the government employees hailing from the Zakhakhel tribe from attending to their official duties until a durable solution to restore lasting peace was found. Furthermore, they called for a boycott of polio vaccination drives and for the closure of all the government and private schools in the Zakhakhel area. The protesters also refused to meet any government functionary till a meaningful crackdown was initiated against suspected militants holed up in Mazreena and the surrounding localities. They also advised local police against wearing a police uniform to avoid being targeted. A fine of Rs1 million was announced for those either spying for outlawed militant groups or the law enforcement agencies. The protestors said that the road blockade will continue till the culprits involved in the targeted killing were apprehended and the area was cleansed of all undesirable elements. The road closure also suspended the return of Afghan families, leaving many vehicles carrying Afghans stranded. Furthermore, the Zakhakhel elders criticised a series of raids conducted on private houses and the arrest of scores of innocent people under the guise of a clean-up operation. They said that armed men, mostly local residents, regularly conduct patrolling of the main road at night, while the law enforcement agencies have failed to check their movement. The highway protest followed an earlier killing of two people in the Sultan Khel area of Landi Kotal l