PESHAWAR – Thousands took to the streets on Sunday in the tribal district of Bajaur for the Bajaur Peace March, a massive demonstration that followed the killing of Awami National Party Leader and peace campaigner Maulana Khanzeb.
The march became a unified expression of grief, anger and public defiance.
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Khanzeb, a respected local figure, was shot dead last week while preparing to mobilise residents for the march. His death added a sense of urgency and gravity to Sunday’s protest, which many said marked a turning point. “This is no ordinary gathering,” one speaker said. “This is a funeral procession for peace—and a call to resurrect it.”
White flags filled the sky as people from all political backgrounds marched together through Bajaur. Protestors chanted for peace, justice and an end to what they described as state indifference to decades of violence in the tribal areas.
“The Bajaur Peace March has shown that our people are not afraid,” said Rehaim Shah Mohmand, a political leader from neighbouring Mohmand. “The killing of Maulana Khanzeb will not break us. It will bind us.”
Onstage, Member of Provincial Assembly Anwar Zeb Khan tore open his shirt in protest, a dramatic gesture against what he called a cycle of repression, military operations and silence. Fellow lawmaker Nisar Baz Khan held the state responsible for failing to bring justice in Khanzeb’s killing or countless others.
The Bajaur Peace March brought together political rivals, tribal elders, and ordinary citizens around a single demand: let us live in peace.
It was, by all accounts, more than just a protest. It was a reckoning. “This was Khanzeb’s last mission,” one young marcher said quietly. “He didn’t get to lead it. But we did.”
