For the past three days, police officers in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been staging a protest against repeated attacks on law enforcement personnel. The protest has been taking place at Tajazai Chowk, a central location in Lakki Marwat.
Police officers have set up a sit-in on the main Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway, blocking all traffic. As a result, the highway has been closed to all types of vehicles, causing significant disruption.
Late last night, negotiations between the protesters and local authorities—including District Police Officer (DPO) Lakki Marwat Taimur Khan, Regional Police Officer (RPO) Bannu Imran Shahid, DPO Bannu Ziauddin Ahmed, and Deputy Commissioner Lakki Marwat Fahad Wazir—failed to achieve a resolution.
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A lengthy meeting involving divisional officers and military officials was held late at night at the Deputy Commissioner's office in Lakki Marwat, but no agreement was reached.
Later, Deputy Commissioner Fahad Wazir, along with DPO Bannu Ziauddin Ahmed and DPO Lakki Marwat Taimur Khan, approached the protest site and requested the demonstrators to open the road for just one hour. However, the protesting officers refused, stating that there were only two ways to open the road: either the military and its agencies should withdraw from Lakki Marwat, or the road could be opened by “martyring” them, as they had come prepared to sacrifice their lives. With this refusal, the officials returned without success.
The protest has caused long queues of vehicles on the Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway, leaving thousands of travelers stranded for two nights. Many have faced significant hardship due to the prolonged road closure.
Police personnel from neighboring districts, including Karak, Bannu, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan, have joined the sit-in in large numbers. People from across the district are also arriving in groups to support the protest.
In a display of solidarity, residents of the nearby village of Tajazai have been providing free breakfast, meals, and water to both the protesters and the stranded passengers, offering some relief amidst the ongoing crisis.
