Thousands hold a sit-in protest in northwest Pakistan as the military allegedly fires on a ‘peace march’
Thousands of demonstrators in northwest Pakistan are participating in a sit-in protest after authorities fired on participants of a “peace march” in the Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province on July 19.
Leaders of the rally told RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal that the Pakistani military fired on participants of the peace march, held as the region has experienced a spike in militant attacks.
Doctors at the Bannu district hospital said that they had received one dead body and 27 injured people following the march.
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The military has so far not commented on allegations that it was responsible for the violence.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, which has shut down mobile and Internet services in the Bannu district amid the unrest, on July 20 announced the formation of an investigative commission to look into the incident.
Nasir Bangash, a leader of the sit-in protest, told RFE/RL that the sit-in will continue until the government provides assurances that peace in the restive province can be restored.
Amnesty International sharply criticized the authorities’ use of violence to break up the march, saying that the “use of lethal force at a peaceful rally advocating for peace is unlawful” and calling for a prompt investigation to “hold to account officials responsible for the attack.”
The rights watchdog further said that restrictions on mobile and Internet services in Bannu “curtail the people’s ability to mobilize” and also “increase the spread of misinformation during emergencies and create panic.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also urged the government to “hold to account those responsible for protesters’ deaths and injuries.”
“This seemingly state-sanctioned violation of citizens’ right to life and right to freedom of peaceful assembly is reprehensible and reflects a dangerous contempt for citizen-led calls for peace,” HRCP said in a statement on X on July 19.
The provincial assembly of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa denounced the violence against “peaceful protesters” in a session held late on July 19, as demonstrations spread to other cities in the province, including the regional capital, Peshawar.
Leaders of Pashtun nationalist political parties have also condemned the violence used against protesters in the Bannu district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province has seen an increase in deadly attacks in the past two years, mostly blamed on Islamist extremist groups, including the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and affiliates of the extremist group Islamic State.
A number of deadly incidents have taken place in recent months, leading to reports that the military is considering an operation to turn the tide of rising terrorism.
While residents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province have complained that Islamabad is not doing enough to provide security, they have also expressed fears of a large-scale operation.
Pakistani security forces have recently said they have conducted targeted operations against militants in several parts of the province.
On July 15, eight Pakistani soldiers were killed when a militant rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the outer wall of a garrison in Bannu.
