Peshawar-Torkham Highway reopens after protests against recent 'targeted attack'

KHYBER: The Peshawar-Torkham Highway was reopened on Sunday following a temporary closure by Sultan Khel tribesmen protesting the handling of ‘targeted killings’ in their area by Zaka Khel elders and government authorities.

Two Sultan Khel residents were gunned down by unidentified assailants on Friday evening — in the same area where two policemen had been targeted over the last few months.

The fresh violence prompted Sultan Khel residents from the Zaka Khel tribe to block the Peshawar-Torkham Highway by staging a protest on Saturday. The road closure also temporarily suspended the repatriation of Afghan families via the Torkham border.

Murad Hussain, a leading figure among the protesters, told Dawn on Sunday that a negotiating committee comprising young Sultan Khel tribesmen was formed to hold talks with government functionaries to find ways to restore peace in the Landi Kotal tehsil, while also securing the main Peshawar-Torkham Highway from nighttime terrorist movement reported in the area.

The committee demanded that the local administration either completely ban pillion riding on the main road or allow it only for those who were officially registered with the traffic police and security forces.

The committee also agreed to end residents’ boycott of the polio vaccination drive, and stated that all government and private educational institutions would be reopened on Monday.

Sources among the protesters said that the majority of residents —mostly youngsters — were outraged as elders had not taken them into confidence while negotiating with government officials over putting an immediate end to targeted killings.

No date for negotiations between the concerned authorities and the newly formed committee was announced.