SWAT (KP): The return of the Taliban to the Swat region of Pakistan has created panic among the local residents in the region who are demanding the government take action against the organization.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had reportedly established a check-post on the Balasoor Top while its members are seen roaming in other areas of Matta tehsil of Swat district. According to the local residents, Taliban militants were not only at Balasoor Top but were also present in large numbers in the mountainous areas of Matta tehsil, including Bar Shor, Koz Shor, Namal, Gat Peuchar and other places.
The number of Taliban militants was increasing in the mountainous areas of Matta tehsil with each passing day which had created panic among the inhabitants, the local residents said.
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Malakand Range, Zeeshan Asghar, was contacted for comments on the new development but he did not respond. In January this year, the TTP confirmed the death of senior leader Mufti Khalid Balti alias Mohammad Khorasani in the eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The ongoing peace talks between the TTP and Pakistan government reached a stalemate as the outlawed group refused to give in on its demand for the reversal of the merger of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Despite a series of meetings between the two sides in recent weeks to break the impasse, there has also been a stalemate over the issue of TTP laying down arms in case of a peace deal.
Talks between the two sides began in October 2021 to seek a political solution to the issue. The talks that were held at the request of the Afghan Taliban led to a one-month ceasefire in November. However, the truce could not last long as differences emerged soon.
Demonstrations in KP against Taliban
Amid worsening law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan due to presence of the Taliban, local residents have been holding protests, demanding peace and protection, said Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday expressing his apprehensions at the success of talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the National Assembly session.
The demonstrations have created political instability in the province, the minister said, adding that anti-Taliban feelings have been growing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) against the Taliban presence in their area, Dawn reported. In a further statement, a Member of National Assembly from Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), Mohsin Dawar drew the attention of the house towards the rise in terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) stating that it has happened after arrival of Taliban from Afghanistan.
“A committee comprising political elders had been constituted to visit the Pakistan-Afghanistan entry point at Ghulam Khan area in North Waziristan to persuade the protesters to open the trade route which they had closed in protest against killings of tribals,” Dawar added.
Speaking on the deteriorating situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dawar said the people of North Waziristan had been protesting for the past 26 days, demanding peace and protection.
The lawmaker claimed terrorism had spread across KP and warned it would soon grip the whole country if not taken into strict consideration.
Dawar said the Taliban were telling the local people that their leadership had directed them to return to the area in the wake of the ongoing talks between Pakistani authorities and the TTP.
Furthermore, a PTI dissident Noor Alam Khan also lambasted the PTI leadership over the campaign and praised the army for its services to the country in the wake of the war against terrorism.
Without naming PTI’s Shahbaz Gill, Khan said those who did not like Pakistan and its army, should leave the country, reported Dawn.
Meanwhile, PTI MNA from Jacobabad, Mohammadmian Soomr who had served as the privatisation minister during the previous PTI government got de-seated in the National Assembly session.
He had not submitted his resignation with his other party colleagues, including Imran Khan at the time of the election of Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister.
The National Assembly also passed four bills which are National Meteorology Institute of Pakistan Bill 2022, the Public Private Partnership Authority (Amendment) Bill 2022, the Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bill 2022 and the Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2022, adjourning the session till Saturday. (ANI)