CM Gandapur likely to convene KP Apex Committee huddle post-Bannu jirga meeting

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is considering calling a meeting of the provincial Apex Committee within the next two days following the demands presented by the Bannu jirga.

Sources told Geo News in the wee hours of Tuesday that the chief minister would furnish the demands of the jirga before the top body, days after firing on the Bannu 'peace march' killed one and injured several others.

The jirga's delegation, who placed a 10-point agenda before Gandapur during a meeting at the CM House, has opposed the federal government's anti-terrorism campaign 'Azm-e-Istehkam', the sources said.

The people familiar with the meeting also said the jirga sought to dismantle armed groups; empower police and ensure their patrolling at night; allow CTD to conduct search operations or take action against terrorists instead of security forces; and present missing persons before courts.

Jirga chief Nasir Khan Bangash told journalists that the Bannu sit-in would continue despite the recent violent episode and that the KP chief minister had heard all their demands.

"Ali Amin Gandapur will visit Bannu on Friday. The chief minister has also stated that he will call a meeting of the Apex Committee. Five members of the jirga will partake in the meeting of the Apex Committee."

During the protest in Bannu on July 19, people were fired upon, prompting the provincial government to form a body to investigate the incident. However, the federal government has said that it won't accept the findings as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) people had weapons and used them in the rally, which caused chaos.

In a press conference on Monday, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the Bannu marchers had raised anti-army slogans and also pelted stones at the security forces' personnel.

During his presser, in which he also criticised the role of social media following the march, Lt Gen Chaudhry also played footage from the incident, which showed armed marchers attacking an under-construction wall of the Bannu cantonment.

"Some armed protesters resorted to gunfire as a result of which there were injuries. This is how it happened. The army’s response was as per the SOP and according to orders."