Peshawar: One person was killed and three
others injured during demonstrations in Abbottabad today over
the renaming of the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan,
taking the total number of deaths in two days of violent
protests to eight.
Hundreds of people across the Hazara division, opposed
to the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa, joined
protests today in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Balakot and
Shinkiari.
One person was electrocuted while removing a portrait
of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif while three others were wounded
during demonstrations. The injured were taken to a hospital in
Abbotabad.
Seven persons were killed and over 100 injured when
police opened fire yesterday to disperse violent protestors.
Life in Abbottabad and other cities was paralysed by
the protests.
In Abbottabad, a strike was observed to protest the
death of people in police firing. Protestors besieged the area
between Fowara Chowk and Meezail Chowk, the two main squares
of the city, and closed down all shops. They also burnt tyres
and other materials to block roads.
A public rally was held at Manshera, where life was
hit by a strike. Police fired in the air and used teargas but
failed to disperse the hundreds of demonstrators.
TV footages showed protestors in Abbottabad, armed
with sticks, rods and weapons, raising slogans against NWFP
government for renaming the province and demanded the creation
of a separate province comprising the Hazara division.
NWFP police chief Malik Naveed Khan said his force was
observing "maximum restraint" and making "minimum use of
force" while dealing with the protests.
Police had fired yesterday only after protestors
attacked two police stations, he told the media.
"They tried to burn a police station and six policemen
were injured, including some who sustained bullet wounds. We
do not want bloodshed and are beginning talks with the leaders
of the protestors to restore peace," he said.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 13, 2010, 15:32