Thousands rally in Swat, demand lasting peace and end to unrest

A large protest demonstration against unrest and in support of sustainable peace was held under the auspices of Swat Awami Pasawon at Nishat Chowk in Mingora city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Swat district on Friday. The protest came days after at least 15 people, including six police personnel, were martyred and several others were wounded in a suicide attack outside Kabal police station in Swat district on Sunday. Thousands of people from various schools of thought took part in the rally. Protesters carried placards, banners and black flags while the entire area echoed with the slogan, ‘We want peace on our own land.’ Participants demanded an end to insecurity in Swat, the establishment of lasting peace and firm protection for the public. Raising strong slogans against terrorism and disorder, they made clear that the people of Swat would no longer accept any form of unrest. Read: Suicide attack outside police station in Swat leaves 15 martyred, including six police personnel Addressing the gathering, Mukhtiar Yousafzai, Khurshid Kakaji, Ghairat Khan Yousafzai, journalist Fayaz Zafar, Sultan Ali Khan (Chairman, Tanzeem Samah Lar), Anwar Bacha Lala, Tahir Khan (Awami Workers Party), Fazal Ahad Lala Ji, Haris Bacha (President, PSF), Shahzad Khan (Shangla Awami Action Committee), Ajab Khan, Bahadur Sher Afghan and other speakers declared that no one would be allowed to sabotage Swat’s peace. They said an organised conspiracy was underway to create conditions for unrest in the valley, but the people of Swat were now fully awake and would not permit any force to disturb the region’s peace. Recalling past hardships, the speakers stressed that Swat’s residents would not allow their land to be engulfed once again by the fire of terrorism. They warned anti-peace elements that the people stood united to defeat their designs. Making Swat a cradle of peace is the shared goal of the public, they said, and every constitutional, democratic and peaceful means would be used to achieve it. The speakers also called on the government to take effective and practical steps to improve law and order, protect the lives and property of citizens, and permanently eliminate terrorism from Swat.

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