Jani Khel tribe ends week-long protest after assurances from KP govt

The Khyber Paktunkhwa government and Jani Khel tribe came to an agreement Monday after which the tribesmen decided to call off their week-long sit-in to protest the killing of four young men.

The agreement was signed at the Commissioner Office in Bannu. KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan presided over  the proceedings. counter-signed the agreement inked by Joint Qaumi (Afridi, Orakzai and Marwat) jirga and elders of the Jani Khel tribe.

Compensation cheques worth Rs2.5 million were distributed among the four bereaved families.

The government will hold a transparent inquiry into the incident and punish the culprits, according to the agreement.

A Shuhada (martyrs) compensation package will be given to the families of the four deceased. The government will introduce a special development package for Jani Khel.

The government has also said it will ensure peace in Jani Khel by clearing all armed groups in the area, while the locals will be allowed possession of weapons with a licence and their houses will not be demolished.

Within three months, the government will carry out a review of the already apprehended individuals of Jani Khel tribe and the innocent will be released immediately.

The cases of those found guilty, however, will be dealt with as per the State law.

The locals of Jani Khel will be given access to government officials to address their other problems.

Protesting Janikhel tribesmen reach Bannu despite hurdles

The angry Jani Khel tribesmen  crossed on Sunday all hurdles erected in their way by the district administration and reached the Bannu city to protest the brutal killing of the four youths.

The police had erected hurdles on the road at various places and used teargas and aerial firing to stop the protesters from going to Bannu.

However, the protesters while taking four bodies of youths along with them succeeded in reaching the next destination of their protest sit-in. They covered 22 kilometres.

Chief of the Jani Khel tribe and former lawmaker Malik Adnan Wazir and Malik Moeez were leading the protesters. The relatives of the victims and local tribesmen have been protesting the killing of the youths for the last seven days by placing their bodies in front of the Jani Khel Police Station.

The officials of district administration held talks with the protesters at Tochi Bridge several times but failed to make any headway as they were adamant to reach the city. Earlier, prominent religious scholars of Bannu district launched efforts to convince protesters to end the sit-in and bury the bodies but that also did not yield any positive results. Later in the day, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and provincial Minister Hisham Inamullah dashed to Jani Khel to hold talks with the elders.