- Funeral of five members of one family held at Ghalegay Ground in Barikot and that of four members of the other family was held at Mian Baba in Saidu Sharif
SWAT/MARDAN: Separate funeral prayers were offered for nine members of two families here on Sunday, who were martyred during a suspected drone attack in Shamozai area of Mardan’s Katlang region.
The funeral of five members of one family was held at Ghalegay Ground, while the funeral of four members of the other family was held at Mian Baba in Saidu Sharif, Swat.
KP Provincial Minister for Housing Dr Amjad Ali, former Jamaat-e-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Malakand Division, along with Gujjar community leaders, political and social figures, and people in large numbers attended the funeral prayers of five members of the same family at the Ghalegay Football Ground in Tehsil Barikot of Swat.
Among the deceased were 50-year-old Wazir Zada, son of Qalandar from Baorai Darra in Tehsil Barikot, his two children – 19-year-old daughter Shaheen and 22-year-old son Nasib Zada, in addition to 30-year-old Imrooz Khan and his brother, 18-year-old Omar Ali, son of Sahibzada, of the same family. Their funeral prayers were offered at the Ghaligay football ground in Tehsil Barikot.
While four people from Shaukat Darra in Galigram area of Saidu Sharif, 65-year-old Shah Da, son of Qaiser, and two members of the same family, 18-year-old Hazrat Bilal, son of Amirzada and 25-year-old Shaheen, wife of 65-year-old Shah Da, his grandson 20-year-old Hazrat Bilal, son of Amirzada, his daughter-in-law 27-year-old Shaheen, wife of Lal Zada and a young man 20-year-old Sadiq son of Pasham Khan were killed in the drone strike. Their funeral prayers were offered in Mian Baba in Saidu Sharif.
Earlier, when the bodies of those killed in the drone attack in Mardan were brought to Swat, their relatives, Gujjar tribe and local people staged a protest demonstration at Barikot Chowk and demanded justice from the government.
At funeral of those killed in the drone attack, former Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan and Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Malakand Division Inayatullah Khan said that the drone attack on innocent civilians was the worst example of cruelty and brutality. “No matter how much we condemn this act, it is insufficient”, they added.
They alleged that actions are being taken against the Pakhtun nation under a conspiracy to change their thinking, but this is the mistake of “those who made such conspiracies.”
They demanded that a judicial inquiry be conducted into the incident and all the requirements of justice be fulfilled.
On this occasion, Provincial Minister for Housing Dr. Amjad Ali said that it is a matter of great regret that innocent people were targeted in a drone attack and after the attack they were considered terrorists, which is very regrettable.
He said that the government has reached an agreement with the leaders of the Gujjar community. “Under the agreement a case has been registered of the incident and we will try to fulfill the demands of justice through a thorough inquiring into the incident at every level”, he claimed.
He said that the government stands with the families of the martyrs and after Eid, all these martyrs will be given relief money under the Shaheed Package.
Gujjar tribal elders Haji Jalat Khan, Mehboob-ur-Rehman and Syed Akbar Khan said that the agreement made with the Gujjar tribe should be respected, otherwise protests will be held in the entire Malakand division.
