PESHAWAR: Residents of Upper and Lower Kohistan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa blocked the Karakoram highway on Friday, the third day of Eidul Fitr, as they staged protests against the suspension of senior police officers over the Bisham suicide attack.
On March 26, Five Chinese engineers — and their Pakistani driver — were killed in a suicide bombing in KP’s Bisham while travelling between Islamabad and a hydroelectric dam construction site in Dasu. The bus was attacked in the Bisham city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district.
The attack prompted China to demand a thorough probe into the deadly blast and security for its citizens. In response, Islamabad had announced a swift probe to hold the “perpetrators and accomplices” accountable. Chinese investigators had also arrived to join the probe.
In response to the Chinese government’s demand to promptly investigate the incident and act against those involved, the government had also decided to form a joint investigation team to probe the attack. Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered action against five senior police officers over negligence and security lapses, which led to the Bisham attack.
Addressing a press conference, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the action was ordered against the police chiefs of Hazara division, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan districts; Dasu Hydropower Project security director; and the commandant of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Special Security Unit.
“The inquiry report found these security officials were negligent in their duties and should have remained alert on the day of the incident,” he said, adding, “Disciplinary action will be taken within 15 days,” the minister said.
Today, the residents of Upper and Lower Kohistan staged protests in the main bazaars of both districts. They alleged that the officials suspended were not culpable as the attack had taken place in Shangla district’s Bisham area.
They lamented that the officials of Upper and Lower Kohistan, as well as the regional police officer of Hazara division, were suspended instead of those from Malakand division, where Shangla is located. They also demanded compensation for the Pakistani driver who was martyred in the attack.
The protesters chanted slogans against Tarar while blocking the Karakoram Highway for two hours.
One of the protesters, Maulana Abdul Aziz Haqqani, said that Kohistan had remained peaceful during a surge in militancy in Malakand and other areas. He further highlighted that after the 2021 attack in Upper Kohistan, China had received a large amount as compensation but authorities did not do the same for the Pakistani driver that was killed. –Agencies
