Daily Times

KHYBER AGENCY: Afghan nationals stranded in Khyber Agency due to the blockade of the Torkham border initiated a protest rally here at Landikotal Bazaar on Sunday.

Dozens of Afghan citizens, holding their passport copies marched from the bypass to Bacha Khan Chowk. They were chanting full throat slogans for the immediate resumption of the border so that they could return to their country.

Speaking on the occasion the stuck Afghanis said that for the last 10 days they had been humiliated by serving nights on footpaths under an open sky in the chilly weather. They were of the view that most of the stranded Afghan citizens had run out of money and they had been compelled to starve or they were at the mercy of local philanthropists.

We have been in Pakistan on legal travelling documents and as per law; the government of Pakistan has to let us to go back to our country, Afghanistan.

“I have been stranded for the last nine days and have been residing at an under construction mosque in Landikotal Bazaar in the cold weather” explained Sher Ali of Logar province in Afghanistan. I have not slept in the last few days owing to the chilly weather and lack of sleeping resources, he explained.

“I spent all of my Rs 2000 cash in nine days and I am moneyless now as an unknown old man gave me Rs 100 for lunch today” he said and added I have nothing for dinner to eat and wait for the mercy of Allah Almighty.

Another Afghan citizen, Ajab Gull, sitting in a distressed situation said that “I had rented a room in Landikotal bazaar for Rs 1200 and the place was not favourable to stay. I have only a sheet to cover myself and live in the cold weather as it was unbearable for me to stay any more in such a condition, he added.

They demanded of the Pak government to have mercy on them and issue forthwith directions for their respectful return.

It is to be mentioned here that in the aftermath of militant attacks in several cities of Pakistan last week, the Torkham border was suspended for all kinds of movement that restricted hundreds of Afghan nationals including women and children in Landikotal.

Census: Representatives of minority languages and marginalised ethnic groups have warned of boycotting the census for excluding their languages in the data collection process.

Speaking at a press conference here on Sunday, representatives of language minorities, including Muhammad Kausar, Dr InayatullahFaizi, Inamullah, Rehmat Kalash and others said that the government had excluded minorities’ languages of Malakand and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Speaking on the occasion a researcher Nayab Farani said that the government had never collected data about the Kalasha which is threatened with extinction. He said that the census could never be considered authentic and fair if it did not take into account all information about the ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. They asked the government to issue directives for making census process transparent and collect data about all the minorities’ languages.

Compensation: The political administration distributed Rs5.4million among the victims of the vegetable market blast.

Assistant Political Agent Shahid Khan distributed cheques worth Rs 100,000 each among heirs of 22 victims while 65 injured received Rs 50, 000 each.