Clash in Barikot Dubando enters second day; residents block road demanding hostage release
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police. File
A clash between police and terrorists that erupted on Wednesday night in the mountainous Barikot Dubando area of Upper Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province continued into Thursday, with security forces and armed men taking positions at various points across the terrain.
According to officials, both sides used heavy weapons. By the time of this report, there was no confirmed information on casualties or fatalities.
Unconfirmed reports said the terrorists had briefly held a few residents hostage before releasing them. Security forces carried out limited helicopter shelling of suspected terrorists’ hideouts, but no casualties were reported from those strikes.
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Residents from Wari, Nahag Dara, Shalgah, Lar Jam, Ashirai Dara and other areas responded to mosque announcements by turning out in support of the police. They formed a local lashkar and marched toward Dubando.
Eyewitnesses said members of the lashkar later gathered outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office and temporarily blocked the Dir-Chitral Road, demanding the immediate release of the alleged hostages. Protesters accused the administration of failing to maintain law and order and warned that if the authorities could not restore peace, the public would defend itself. The road was later reopened to traffic.
Addressing gatherings in Wari and Dir, former provincial assembly members Sahibzada Sanaullah and Malik Bahram Khan urged the public to remain peaceful and united. They said residents stood shoulder to shoulder with the police and would not allow the law-and-order situation in the district to deteriorate. They also called on the army and Frontier Corps to play a more active role in operations against the terrorists.
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Local elders resolved that terrorists and other troublemakers would not be given shelter in the area and pledged full cooperation with law-enforcement agencies against any suspicious activity. They stressed that lasting peace required a joint effort by the public and security institutions.
Separately, a joint targeted operation by Upper Dir Police and Dir Scouts continued in Dubando and adjoining areas falling under the Dir City police station. Police said Elite Force, Counter Terrorism Department and Bomb Disposal Squad personnel were taking part. The area was being monitored with thermal devices, drone cameras and armoured vehicles.
District Police Officer Aslam Nawaz personally supervised the operation and reviewed security arrangements. He said action against militants, their facilitators and other anti-peace elements would continue until the area was fully cleared.
