Alleged murder of 4 Pakistani youth by army triggers massive protests

Massive protests erupted Monday as thousands of tribal Pashtuns gathered in the Jani Khel region of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province following the brutal murder of four Pashtun youths from the region.

Media reports said the youths were murdered on Sunday.

The four youths, whose mutilated bodies were found in the open field near an army camp, were picked on the ground of alleged espionage by Pakistan-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan (TTP).

Some said the army had direct involvement and some people also suspected they were traumatized sexually before being hacked to death.

In spite of a continuous downpour, the family, relatives and tens of hundreds of native Pashtuns are holding a sit-in with their mutilated corpses.

The authorities are yet to issue a statement.

Locals accuse the Pakistani army and the dreadful TTP, whom the army and the establishment label as people’s and country’s enemies operating hand in glove to suppress the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, an increasingly popular group fighting for the rights of tribal natives.

A social media user, Fazal Rehman Wazir, said on Twitter that “GHQ guards are the killers of the Pashtun nation.

“A few days ago in Jani Khel, Bannu, Good Taliban kidnapped four minor boys on suspicion of espionage and today their tortured bodies were found.

“Heart-wrenching graphics of mutilated bodies of 4 minors 4m #janikhel r circulating on social media.

“The area was cleared 4m terrorists back in 2009 in a military operation, however, till date, the area is the hub of all kinds of terrorists,” another social media user Hai Pashteen posted on Twitter.

Pashtun leaders have time and again accused the Pakistani army of carrying out violence in the region with impunity.

They say the army, which has over-deployed troops in the name of regional security from terrorists has in fact provided them patronage in carrying out attacks against minority tribal population.

The government has cracked down on prominent Pashtun voices, including Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, who was arrested on charges of sedition last year.

He was released later following widespread criticism of the government’s move.