March in Kurram ends after talks

PARACHINAR: The march launched a day before for peace and reopening of the roads in the Kurram tribal district ended on Friday after talks with the administration and the security forces proved successful.

The people from all age groups — children, youth and elders — were part of the march whose participants were on foot.

They had complained that tens of thousands of people had been confined to homes for almost one month because of the closure of roads for travel in various parts of the Kurram district.

The participants of the march covered 25 kilometers in the two days and reached Sameer area where they staged a sit-in. They announced to launch another march from Peshawar to Islamabad.

But a 50-member Jirga from the marchers engaged in talks with the administration and the security forces which succeeded.

It was decided that in the first phase, movement on the main highway would start in the form of convoys. This would be followed by more traffic after making the road safe for travel.

Additional check posts would be set up along the highway and closed-circuit cameras installed there to ensure the safety of the travellers.

Tribal elders, Jalal Bangash and Agha Tajamul Hussain later addressed the participants of the sit-in and announced an end to the protest. The people returned to native areas after the announcement. It may be mentioned here that Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud had closed roads for security reasons after passenger vehicles came under fire in the district on October 12, this year.