Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan and a six-party opposition alliance on Saturday called for a judicial inquiry into the outbreak of violence at a peace rally in Bannu a day earlier even as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government announced the formation of a commission for a “transparent” investigation.
At least one person was killed and 22 others were injured when gunfire caused a stampede at a march in Bannu city on Friday. The gathering was attended by thousands who were demanding security in the district. The peace rally, organised by local traders and political parties, saw participants waving white flags as symbols of peace.
Eyewitnesses said that tensions escalated when the crowd marched towards the Bannu cantonment, setting fire to tents set up by security forces to guard a portion of a wall damaged in a terrorist attack last week.
According to official accounts, shots were fired from an adjoining area towards the tents. Security forces returned the fire, and in the ensuing gunfire and melee, at least one person was killed and scores were injured.
As tensions flared, local authorities scrambled to restore order. The administration and police convened a jirga of local elders to pacify the situation.
The violence was condemned by activists and rights organisations, who claimed that the death toll was much higher than reported. Meanwhile, the PTI core committee strongly condemned the violence in Bannu and “directed” its provincial government in KP to hold a transparent inquiry and punish those involved in the deaths of innocent people.
In a statement on X today, KP government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said the situation in Bannu was under control while security was on high alert in “sensitive areas”.
He further stated that KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur had announced the formation of a commission to probe the incident. “The commission will conduct an impartial investigation and submit a report. Legal action will be taken after determining the role of the accused,” Saif said.
He also requested the public to exercise extreme caution in the wake of the “rising wave of terrorism”, adding that anti-state elements should not be given a chance to spoil peace in the province.
Moreover, Saif urged the public to wait for the commission’s report and avoid spreading unverified information or indulging in “negative propaganda”.
Meanwhile, the PTI posted a quote from party founder Imran condemning the incident and outbreak of violence.
“It will worsen the situation. Everyone knows that innocent people were fired upon. I demand that a judicial inquiry be conducted in the Bannu incident,” he was quoted as saying.
A meeting of the six-party opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan also echoed the demand for a judicial inquiry in an emergency meeting attended by senior leaders.
The huddle passed a resolution demanding that a judicial commission under the chairmanship of a serving judge should be constituted immediately to carry out a transparent investigation free from any “external pressure”.
It also said that the KP chief secretary and inspector general of police had “miserably failed to establish peace in the province” and should be immediately sacked.
The alliance also announced a peaceful nationwide protest on July 26 after Friday prayers for its demands.
Separately, residents staged a sit-in outside the Bannu Police Line Chowk — located opposite the main entrance of the cantonment — to press the government to investigate the firing incident.
Organisers of the sit-in, Maulana Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Nasir Khan Bangash, Ghulam Qibaz Khan and Abdul Rauf Qureshi, delivered speeches at the gathering.
“We had staged a rally for peace yesterday and will do the same again and again,” one of the speakers said. “We do not accept the office of any armed group in Bannu,” he added.
Another speaker said those responsible for maintaining peace should fulfil their responsibilities.
The participants of the sit-in also complained that local authorities had shut down mobile networks and internet services after the firing. They added that Wi-Fi and landline phone systems were also suspended on Friday, causing problems for the public.
In a post on X, Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said thousands of people participated in the sit-in and waved white flags. “They have just one demand: ‘We don’t want unrest or bombing, but only peace in our land’,” he stressed.
He added that mobile phone services were suspended in Bannu since yesterday and roads were blocked with containers.
A terrorist attack earlier this week on the Bannu Cantonment had left eight military personnel martyred. The attack was attributed to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group operating from Afghanistan.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Foreign Office had issued a statement demanding “immediate, robust and effective action” by the interim Afghan government against the perpetrators of the attack.
It had added that the deputy head of mission of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and delivered a “strong demarche”.
“Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security. Such incidents also go against the spirit of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries,” the FO had said.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have lately become strained, largely because of the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group but also due to frequent border skirmishes. Last month, the Afghan defence ministry’s spokesman angrily reacted to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks when he said that Islamabad could hit TTP hideouts in Afghanistan.
Leaders of the Afghanistan interim government held a meeting with Pakistani officials in Doha earlier this month in what was seen as an effort to ease tension following the announcement of a fresh operation against the TTP.
Zabihullah Mujahid, leader of the Taliban delegation at the Doha conference, had described his meeting with Pakistani diplomats as “good” and expressed the hope for developing “positive relations” with Pakistan.
Additional reporting by Nadir Guramani.
