PESHAWAR: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Ali Amin Gandapur, announced on Wednesday that the provincial government will hold a series of tribal council meetings or jirgas from August 2 to address people’s concerns, amid protests over the deteriorating law and order situation amid a fresh military operation in the restive Bajaur district.
Located in KP along the Afghan border, the northwestern Bajaur district has long experienced militant violence and multiple military operations, especially during the peak of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgency.
Hundreds of protesters, including tribal elders and youth, rallied on Wednesday in Bajaur district to express concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the area, as the military launched an operation against militants that has left at least three civilians dead and seven injured, according to local representatives. Residents say they are opposing the latest offensive out of fear of displacement, as previous operations in the tribal belt, led to evacuations and long-term instability.
The unrest erupted following a three-day curfew imposed across 16 villages in Bajaur’s Loi Mamund tehsil, where the Pakistan Army began a counterterrorism operation codenamed “Sarbakaf” on July 29. The curfew, announced in a notification by the district’s deputy commissioner, aimed to “ensure public safety” amid intelligence reports of militant activity.
