Thousands march for peace in Pakistan's Bajour

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], January 6 : Thousands of people staged a march in Pakistan's Bajour on Thursday and vowed to protect peace in the region, reported The Dawn.
The peace march organised by the Bajaur Peace Action Committee, a local alliance of political parties, was attended by political workers, social activists, traders and youth. Tribal elders, traders, social activists and youth participated in the march and asked for the restoration of peace in the district.
The march's participants chanted slogans in favour of peace and against the fresh wave of terrorism in the region, particularly in the tribal districts. They held white flags and placards. They gathered at Dubai Market near Jinnah Bus Terminal at 10 am.
The rally was addressed by Awami National Party provincial general secretary Sardar Hussin Babak, chief of National Democratic Movement MNA Mohsin Dawar, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement head Manzoor Pashteen, MPA Nisar Momand and others, according to The Dawn.
Bajaur Peace Action Committee, the local leaders and workers of political and religious parties and the district residents were lauded for arranging the march. Those who addressed the rally said that it was necessary to stop the ongoing wave of terrorism in the tribal districts.
It was also said that such events prove that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's residents were peace-loving and wanted to maintain the region's peace.
According to the speakers, peace and normalcy are the foundations of socioeconomic development and insecurity and uncertainty were the major causes of the backwardness of the tribal districts.
The speakers said that the decades-long insurgency affected the socioeconomic conditions of the tribal districts which earlier had huge reserves of natural resources. They said that thousands of residents of tribal districts were killed during the militancy and war against terrorism, reported The Dawn.
Recently, hundreds of people took to the streets in a tribal district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province against rising terrorism in the region and demanded the civil administration fulfil its responsibilities to restore peace in the area.
The peace march was organised by Wana Siyasi Ittihad (WSI) in South Waziristan's Wana town, Dawn newspaper reported. The protest march saw the participation of hundreds of people along with the presence of members of the PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami and other political parties.
According to Dawn, the protesters demanded a ban on armed groups in the district, tackling the rise of terrorism, getting rid of kidnappings for ransom, the release of prominent Pashtun leader Ali Wazir and adequate security for the public, contractors and traders.
Blaming the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for not paying heed to the security of the region, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, recently, said that an estimated number of around 7,000 to 10,000 Tehreek-i-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP) militants are present in the region, Dawn reported.
The Interior Minister claimed that the militants who had previously laid down arms have now secretly resumed activities, wreaking havoc in the region. In an interview with Dawn News TV programme, the Minister revealed they were accompanied by 25,000 members of their families.