Protesters block Torkham trade route in KP’s Khyber district
Demand FBR, NLC pay amount agreed for leasing their land
The Torkham trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday due to a protest by the Khuga Khel tribe in Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The protesters have been sitting on the Pak-Afghan trade route for the last three days in protest against the Federal Board of Revenue and the National Logistics Cell.
They have refused to end the sit-in in Landi Kotal tehsil until their demands are met.
Mufti Eijaz Shinwari, a tribal leader, told SAMAA Digital that they gave the NLC and FBR 300-kanal land on lease in 2015 and they agreed to pay them Rs20 million a year.
The authorities didn’t make good on the promise and have yet to pay Rs120 million, Shinwari said.
The violation of the agreement has enraged residents and they won’t end the sit-in until they are paid what was promised, he added.
At least six policemen and five protesters were injured in a clash in the area Wednesday. The authorities arrested 35 people but they were released on bail Thursday.
Shinwari said the FBR and NLC had agreed to give facilities and jobs to locals at an international terminal in the area. But they didn’t keep that promise either, he added.
