Parachinar protest: Right to respectable life demanded
Parachinar Protesters have refused to accept the compensation which was announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the victims of a double bombing which had claimed 72 lives in Parachinar.
On Thursday, 29th June 2017, the elders of the area had demanded that before anything else, they should be considered human beings and be treated like the people of the other parts of the country.
Members of the Shia community along with the victim families of the area, which was the target of the terrorist attack, have been staging a protest sit in the main town of Kurram Agency for a week.
Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif on the seventh day of the protest sit-in, had announced Rs1 million as compensation for family of the each of the deceased and Rs0.5 million for each person who had been injured in the blasts.
According to an official statement, directives from the PM have already been issued to the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zafar Iqbal Jhagra in this regard.
However the large number of people who have been holding a sit-in at Shaheed Park for so many days are angry at the government for what they consider as its inaction after the bombings.
Furthermore, several other protest demonstrations have been held across the country, which is seeking justice and compensation for the victims’ families.
On Monday, 26th June 2017, a trip to London had been cut short by the prime minister in order to visit Bahawalpur, where 150 people had lost their lives after the spilled fuel they were collecting from an overturned oil tanker caught fire.
Government jobs had been announced by the premier for the injured and the heirs of the deceased, furthermore Rs1 million in aid for each of those injured and Rs2 million each for the heirs of those killed.
The Parachinar protesters had also demanded jobs and compensation on a par with what Prime Minister Sharif announced for the people killed in Bahawalpur.
The Parachinar protesters had also demanded a visit from the army chief and the federal interior minister. Reportedly the army chief had attempted to fly to Parachinar, before being forced to turn back due to inclement weather.
On Thursday, 29th June 2017, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra announced the PM’s package for the blasts victims in Peshawar.
The governor also expressed his deep sympathies with the tragedy hit famiies. He expressed his deep sympathies with the bereaved families and said that monitory compensation was just a token of deeply-realised feelings on the part of the government and could never be an alternative to the precious lives lost in the tragic incidences.
He said “We fully share the feelings of the affected families and assure them of extending every possible support and cooperation in future as well. We have to carry forward war against terrorism jointly and would defeat the terrorists through the joint efforts of Pak Army and the people.”
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Maryam Aurangzeb, who called on the governor, also offered condolences to the victims. She also wowed to eliminate the menace of terrorism.
A protest was held by the Shia community in Peshawar on Wednesday, 28th June 2017, against the Parachinar twin blasts and government’s alleged indifferent attitude towards the victims.
Leading the protest was the Shia Ulema Council outside the Press Club. Prominent among the leaders were Council’s Alama Irshad Khalili, provincial general secretary Akhundzada Muzafar Ali, Pakistan Mazdor Kisan Party leader Shakil, Pakhtunkhwa Olasi Tehreek leader Dr Said Alam Mehsud, and Sikh community leader Radaish Sing Tony.
Foolproof security along with concrete action against terrorists was demanded; they said the culprits responsible for the attack shall be given exemplary punishment as were the perpetrators of APS punished.
Parachinar, with a population of more than 50,000, has been under a strict security quarantine for quite some time. Army and paramilitary personnel have set up checkpoints on all routes leading to the town and visitors and vehicles go through extensive search and identification process.
The twin blasts had occurred in the Turi Market near Tal Adda, where a bus terminal is also located. According to the administration officials, the explosions had targeted people shopping in the area and those heading out of the city ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.
While a second explosion had targeted rescuers and bystanders who had rushed to aid those who had been hurt in the first blast.
On March 31st of this year, Parachinar had suffered a similar tragedy when 23 people were killed in a car bomb blast near an Imambargah at midday. Along with the killed more than 70 others had been wounded in the attack. While another person had died later after security forces opened fire on a crowd trying to hold a demonstration in front of the political agent’s office in protest against increasing terrorist attacks.
In January 2017, 25 people had been killed while 87 others had suffered injuries when a bomb went off during peak business hours at a crowded vegetable market in the city. In what appeared to be a sign of growing cooperation among extremists, two banned groups had come forward to claim the deadly assault, with one describing the incident as a suicide attack.
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