Protest in Jani Khel, Bannu against brutal murder of four boys and NAB postponement of Maryam's appearance of 26th March

Friday Focus is a weekly podcast of three Pakistani women in which talk about politics and human rights. In today's podcast Gulalai Ismail and Gul Bukhari talked about the ongoing protest in Jani Khel, Bannu against the murder of four boys and about the NAB postponement of Maryam's appearance of 26th March.

LAKKI MARWAT: The residents of Janikhel area of Bannu on Monday placed the bodies of four teenage boys in front of the local police station to protest their brutal murder.Locals had recovered the bullet-riddled bodies of the teenagers from a field the other day and shifted them to the district headquarters hospital. The deceased had been missing for last three weeks. “The boys aged between 13 to 17 years had gone on hunting birds about three weeks ago, but they did not return to their homes,” a relative of the victims told Dawn. He said the relatives had launched a search for them but failed to find their whereabouts. On Sunday, a shepherd was grazing cattle in the fields when his dogs started scratching a place with their paws. He got suspicious and informed the locals, including the victim boys’ relatives, who later dug out the bodies. he victims were identified as Ahmadullah, Mohammad Rahim, Razamullah and Atifullah. According to the residents of Janikhel, the four boys were fond of hunting birds and wild hare in the area. A relative of the deceased said they received the bodies from the hospital and then along with tribesmen took the coffins to the Janikhel police station to stage a sit-in there. He said the families of the deceased had no enmity with anyone.The police said they had registered a case against unknown killers and were investigating the murders. Speaking at the protest demonstration, the tribal elders said the brutal killing of four boys had proved that miscreants and anti-state elements were free to sabotage peace and harmony in the area.They asked the authorities to trace the perpetrators behind the incident. They also asked the government to take measures for restoration of peace in Janikhel and announce Shuhada Package for the victims’ families. (DAWN News, 23rd March 2021)
he National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday postponed the appearance of PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz before the watchdog on March 26 (tomorrow), citing the threat of Covid-19 and "public interest". NAB had summoned Maryam on Friday as part of two probes — a money laundering investigation in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, and another related to 148 kanals of land that she allegedly purchased in Lahore illegally. A day before her appearance that was expected to turn into a political power show for the PML-N, a high-level NAB meeting was held to review the situation and the recent instructions issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in view of the ongoing third coronavirus wave in the country."The meeting was informed that the NCOC has placed a complete ban on the gathering of all sorts of crowds," a press release issued by NAB Lahore said. It recalled that at Maryam's last appearance before the bureau, the NAB Lahore building had been subjected to "deliberate intense stone-pelting", which was akin to "creating an obstacle" in the NAB investigation. Persons involved in such acts could be jailed for up to 10 years under accountability laws but "despite these legal powers, NAB has so far shown extreme patience and restraint so far", the statement said. It noted that Maryam had been issued notices to appear before NAB investigation teams for a second time on March 26.

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