On Friday, hundreds of people protested the deteriorating law and order situation, growing ransom, extortion, and bombings in Wana, Lower South Waziristan’s administrative center.
Muttahida Siyasi Aman Pasoon, a stakeholder alliance, organized the demonstration, which was well-received by all major political parties, civic society, traders’ groups, and the
The security situation in Lower South Waziristan has deteriorated during the past year.
Targeted killings, kidnappings, and bombings are rising.
Protesters want police power ‘restored’ and targeted killings and abductions stopped.
Five days ago, a blast at Wana’s peace committee office killed 12 and injured 18. Three days previously, an IED blast in Azam Warsak killed one kid and injured another, inciting widespread outrage and dread.
All markets, including Rustam Bazaar, were shuttered throughout the demonstration, sources said. Thousands of protesters hoisted white flags and shouted ‘restore peace now’ in Wana.
The demonstration included leaders and workers of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamaat-i-Islami, Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, and National Democratic The demonstration was led by former provincial assembly candidate Taj Wazir, JUI-F general secretary Maulana Rafiuddin, MNA Zubair Wazir, Ashfaq Wazir, and others.
The protest leaders instructed the crowd: “We have sacrificed lives and persevered displacement withinside the combat towards militancy, however now unrest is being imposed on us
At the end of the protest, peace alliance leaders presented the government with a 13-point charter of demands.
It involves restoring police power and ending civil administration intervention, maintaining peace and order in all major and local markets of Wana, and reopening all closed and non-functional schools across the city.
Lower South Waziristan, especially Birmal tehsil, opening the Angoor Adda border for full trade and building tiny dams to stabilize agricultural water tables.
The charter also banned tinted-glass vehicles, narcotics peddlers, and arms displays; transferred all government departments, including courts, from Tank district to Wana; took concrete steps to curb targeted killing, extortion, bombings, and abductions; respectfully repatriated Afghan refugees; and ended forced evictions and military land occupation under the guise of checkpoints.
The charter also demanded the immediate release of former MNA Ali Wazir and all other political prisoners, the court presentation of ‘innocent’ detainees arrested during search operations, and indigenous mineral resource ownership rights.
This protest marked a turning moment in Lower South Waziristan’s history, sending a powerful message to federal and provincial authorities that public frustration has reached a boiling point. The locals have shown they won’t stay silent.
