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Residents of North Waziristan's Utmanzai Jigra tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, cut off the gas supply after the Pakistani government failed to meet their demands for establishing peace in the region, Express Tribune reported on Saturday.
On Friday, the members of the Jirga in Mir Ali, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, severed the gas pipeline that runs from North Waziristan to other parts of Pakistan as part of their protest, Express Tribune reported. Maulana Baitullah, the spokesperson for the Utmanzai Jirga, addressed the protesters in Mir Ali, explaining that while they could not remove the entire pipeline due to a lack of machinery, they managed to cut a portion of it using shovels and other tools. This latest action follows a recent rally where thousands of tribals protested against the ongoing lawlessness, target killings, and military operations in their region, Express Tribune reported. The Express Tribune further reported that the Pakhtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Utmanzai Jigra, Aman Pasawon, and various political parties organized a protest in Mir Ali Bazaar. The leaders and thousands of participants, including workers from different political parties, attended the rally. The participants of Aman Pasawon observed a complete shutter down strike in solidarity with the protest. The local leaders emphasized that the people of North Waziristan do not support violence. They warned that if the institutions failed to address their issues and establish government authority, the state would be held responsible for any ensuing losses. They also stated that the protest would continue until their demands were met, Express Tribune reported. The issue of human rights abuses by Pakistan's armed forces in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region has been consistently highlighted on the international stage, Express Tribune reported. Recently, members of the Afghan Cultural Association (AKS), in collaboration with the Austria branch of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), staged a protest outside the Pakistan Embassy in Vienna. Earlier in the end of July 2024, a similar protest was held in the south Waziristan district as people of that district also faced the same problems of targeted attacks and extortion, Express Tribune reported. (ANI)
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