Thousands of people rallied on Friday against a planned Pakistani military operation to flush out militants along the Afghan border, sparking a gunfight that left at least one protester dead, officials and witnesses said.
More than 10,000 people waving white flags and calling for peace gathered at a rally in Bannu, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Afghanistan, where a suicide bomber on Monday rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a military post, killing eight Pakistani soldiers.
“Military operations have been going on for 20 years but peace has not been established,” protester Jamaluddin Wazir told AFP.
Witnesses and officials reported that protests on Friday turned violent when crowds reached the walls of the military compound and gunfights broke out.
“They chanted anti-army slogans and some started throwing stones at the compound’s walls, which led to troops firing in the air, causing the crowd to go wild,” an intelligence official in the nearby city of Peshawar told AFP on condition of anonymity.
At least one protester was killed, according to Pakhtunkhwa provincial health minister Abiyar Ali, who spoke at the protest and accused the military of opening fire on protesters.
“During the rally, shots were fired directly at me and those close to me. It was not just firing in the air, the aim was to kill us,” Jaar told AFP.
“This shooting was carried out by those who seek to destroy our peace. They are seeking to shed the blood of our people and the community will no longer tolerate this.”
Pakistan’s government announced earlier this year that its military would launch a new operation to counter violence along the border with Afghanistan that has escalated since the Taliban returned to power.
