A curfew enforced in Wana has been extended to the entire South Waziristan Agency up to the Pak-Afghan border, said media reports on Wednesday.
The curfew has been underway since Monday following a clash between unarmed supporters of the Pashtun Tahhafuz Movement and a government-backed aman committee. At least three people were killed and dozens injured in the clash.
The aman committees, backed by the political administration to exercise executive and judicial powers in tribal agencies, are opposed by the PTM on grounds that they are in control of former militants associated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
During their recent public gatherings, PTM leaders Ali Wazir, Mohsin Dawar and Manzoor Pashteen have strongly criticised these armed aman committees seeking an end to their control in the areas.
A senior government official in Peshawar was on Monday quoted in media reports as saying, “Curfew has been tightened and extended to the entire South Waziristan. More than 80 people have so far been arrested.”
Confirming details of the curfew, a government official in South Waziristan was quoted as saying that landlines had been disconnected in the area and roads blocked. There were also reports that mosques had been shuttered to prevent people from rallying crowds with the facilities’ loudspeakers.
The area is sealed off to journalists, making claims difficult to verify.
A clash between PTM activists and insurgents on Sunday killed two people, sparking fears of wider unrest in an area. The violence was followed by a second clash during a rally on Monday, according to PTM.
Authorities were negotiating with local tribal elders to restore calm and had relaxed the curfew for two hours on Tuesday to allow people to buy food to break their fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
PTM has been calling for investigations into disappearances and extrajudicial killings by Pakistan’s security establishment, while also echoing accusations that the military allowed extremists a safe haven from which to launch attacks in Afghanistan. During a press conference earlier this week, chief military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor slammed accusations that the country was harbouring militants, accusing the PTM of being manipulated by “enemies of Pakistan”.
Published in Daily Times, June 7th 2018.
