“Waziristan Aman Olasi Pasoon” (Waziristan peace public movement) ended their sit-in protest in the Wana area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district after the successful talks with the administration. The protest was ended after the Deputy Commissioner and District Police Officer ensured the protesters of implementing all of their “legitimate demands”.

The protestors were staging the sit-in against a fresh wave of lawlessness and militant violence that lingered for a week on Thursday. The local authorities said they were trying to pacify the situation by accepting the “legitimate demands” of protesters.

The protesters had blocked the roads leading to various destinations of the district to protest the rising incidents of target-killing, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and other crimes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and South Waziristan in particular. The participants asked the authorities to deal with the armed factions to strengthen security of the region.

The organisers of the sit-in protest had threatened to expand the protest sit-in to other areas if the government did not accept their demands.

Protest in Wana has been attended by a large number of people, showing the intensity of public outcry against lawlessness in the area.

The protesters include the representatives of several political parties including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP), National Democratic Movement (NDM), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP).

Following the successful talks with the administration, the protestors ended the sit-in and opened all the roads.

Assistant Commissioner Yasir Salman Kundi told Aaj News that almost all the demads of the protesters had been accepted.

“We accepted all their legitimate demands such as tackling the kidnapping issue and strengthening, arming and deploying police force for greater peace,” the assistant commissioner said. “The construction work on police station in Raghazai and other peripheries of Wana city will soon be started.”

He said that police patrolling around the financial hub of the area would soon be intensified to instill a sense of security among the business community.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence in recent weeks after the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), unilaterally called off its cease-fire with the government last November.