PARACHINAR: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa on Friday was briefed on the security situation in the area by the officials soon after he landed in Parachinar.
Army chief reached the area to take stock of the situation where thousands have gathered to protest the ghastly terror attacks in a market there last week which killed 75 people and injured scores others.
Citizens of Parachinar began a sit-in protest soon after the two bombs went off last week on Friday evening, as shoppers were out buying supplies in preparation for the breaking of the fast on one of the last days of the holy month of Ramadan.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced 1 million rupees ($10,000) compensation for the families of every victim of the blasts, and 500,000 rupees for the wounded, but the protesters dismissed that, saying victims of attacks in other places got more, a witness said.
Parachinar is part of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, ethnic Pashtun-majority areas along the Afghan border covered by special laws and regulations.
A former senator, Allama Abid al-Hussaini, said the sit-in, centred in a town park, was estimated to have attracted 70,000 participants on Thursday.
A senior government official in the town said tens of thousands joined the protest.
Gen Bajwa will also meet the tribal elders and the protesters later in the day.
Parachinar had already suffered two bomb attacks this year, before last Friday´s blasts, that killed about 50 people.
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