Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Swat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), on Friday following a roadside bomb attack on a convoy of foreign diplomats, which killed a police officer in their security detail.
While most militant attacks in K-P are linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the group distanced itself from this attack. The convoy, heading to the Malam Jabba ski resort, remained unharmed.
“The protest is meant to give a message for the restoration of peace,” said Mazhar Azad of the Swat Qami Jirga, leading the demonstration at Nishat Chowk in Mingora. “We want peace at any cost, we want an end to terrorism. We don’t want any kind of war on our land,” he lamented. Despite a high-level threat alert banning large public gatherings, the protest saw wide participation from political parties, civil rights groups, and local activists.
“We are being told that militants are present in the mountains of Swat,” said Khalid Mehmood Khan, another Jirga member. “If this is true, then it is evidence of state failure. We will no longer accept unrest and militancy in Swat under any circumstances,” he maintained.
K-P government spokesperson Muhammad Saif stated that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the attack on the diplomats. Swat Police spokesperson Moen Fayaz confirmed the protest ended peacefully and reaffirmed the police’s commitment to fighting militancy.
