Protest call in KPK seeking end to extortion, killings

A shutter-down strike was held in Wana, the administrative centre of Lower South Waziristan, in response to the rapidly deteriorating law and order situation, Dawn reported.

Organised by the Muttahida Siyasi Aman Pasoon, a coalition of various political and social stakeholders, the protest on Friday drew widespread support from all major political parties, civil society, business groups, and the general public.

Protesters decried the alarming rise in abductions, extortion, targeted killings, and bomb blasts that have plagued the region over the past year.

According to Dawn, the protest was sparked by a deadly explosion in Wana five days earlier, killing 12 and injuring 18. Just days before that, an IED blast in the Azam Warsak area killed one child.