Pashtuns protesting encounter killing end stir after govt assurances

The protestors have said four of their demands are yet to be met, and vowed to return if the government does not address it.

world Updated: Feb 11, 2018 21:02 IST
Pakistani protesters gather over the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, in an alleged police encounter, in Quetta on Saturday.
Pakistani protesters gather over the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, in an alleged police encounter, in Quetta on Saturday.(AFP File)

Hundreds of Pashtuns ended their protest in Islamabad on Sunday after the government gave assurances that their demands would be met.

Minister Azam Khan told the protestors that the killer of Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, would be arrested soon.

However, the protestors have said that four of their demands are yet to be met.

They have said that they would return if the government does not address their demands.

The protests were organised and attended mostly by young Pashtun men, many of them from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), with a sizeable portion belonging from the Mehsud tribe.

Their list of demands include a plea to stop stereotyping Pashtuns in Pakistan and waking up to their plight.

They wanted the arrest Rao Anwar, the policeman seen as responsible for the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a trader and social media star.

They also seek the repeal the Frontier Crimes Regulation and other draconian laws.

The Pashtuns’s demanded the government to present before courts the victims of forced disappearances and to clear land mines from FATA.

They also wanted an end curfews particularly during military operations against terrorists in the region.