BANNU: The Qaumi Amn Jirga on Wednesday announced to stage a protest sit-in on April 20, warning that protesters would themselves open blocked roads if their demands were not met by the deadline.
Speaking at a press conference here, former senator Baz Muhammad Khan, Prof Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, Dr Pir Sahib Zaman, and Malik Yousafullah Khan and others said they had given a deadline to the authorities on April 2 to meet their demands including the reopening of the blocked roads.
However, they expressed regret that no practical progress had been made on any of the demands so far.They said road closure had become the most pressing issue for residents, causing severe hardships for residents, adding that the authorities failed to resolve the matter.
They warned that they would stage a sit-in and reopen the roads if their demands were not accepted by April 20, asserting that there was no legal justification for blocking roads.The jirga members appealed to the trader community and transporters to observe a complete shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on the day.
They said that negotiations with the authorities failed to yield any results, leaving them with no option but to take to the streets.The jirga members maintained that the protest would remain peaceful, urging religious scholars to encourage people to participate in the protest.
They said that the government was responsible for protecting the lives and property of citizens. The jirga members reiterated that their sole demand was the restoration of peace, asking the authorities to redress public grievances.Meanwhile, the District Bar Association Bannu announced its support for the protest movement and declared a boycott of court proceedings on April 20.
