BAJAUR/LOWER DIR: Awami National Party central president Aimal Wali Khan on Saturday demanded of the government to ensure early arrest of the killers of Maulana Khan Zeb, a senior party leader, who was killed in an attack in Bajaur.

Speaking to party workers during his visit to Bajaur to express condolences with the family of the slain leader, Aimal said the tragic killing of Maulana Zeb had shocked the party.

Calling Zeb a committed peace activist, the ANP central president said the slain was not only a great loss to ANP but also to the Pashtun community worldwide.

Aimal, however, said such incidents would not force the party and its workers to abandon the peace narrative, saying the party had faced such brutal incidents in the past.

The ANP leader said that it was the prime responsibility of the government to ensure security of its citizens as per the Constitution.

However, he alleged that thekillings of innocent people in Bajaur and other merged districts showed that the state had failed in its responsibility to provide protection to its citizens.

He also called for an end to lawlessness and violence in Bajaur and other affected areas of the province.

Meanwhile, JI senior leader Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, former chief minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, and ANP senior leader Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour also visited the slainparty leader`s house in Nawagai on Saturday and expressed condolences with his family members.

Separately, a large number of people, including students, social and political workers, on Saturday held funeral in absentia for Maulana Zeb at Shaheed Chowk, Timergara, in Lower Dir.

Following the funeral, a protest was held during which ANP leaders from Lower and Upper Dir districts condemned thekilling. They described him as a staunchadvocate ofpeace and a vocal supporter of Pashtun rights.

They demanded of the government to ensure the arrest of the killers of Maulana Zeb.

Also, ANP leaders on Saturday warned that the plunder of natural resources of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would not be allowed.

Speaking at an awareness gathering organised by ANP Adenzai chapter in Chakdara,Lower Dir, they alleged the reinstatement of the Fata Jirga and the introduction of a new `Mines and Minerals Bill` was a deliberate attempt to roll back the 18th Constitutional Amendment and seize provincial rights.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Hussain Shah Yousafzai, tehsil vice-president Ghulam Khaliq, district president Haji Bahadar Khan, tehsil president Syed Latif Ahmad Bacha and others.

They emphasised that the martyrdom of Maulana Khan Zeb was a slap in the face of the government and must not be ignored.

They recalled that Pashtuns stood by the country in its toughest times and even declared Jihad against the British colonial powers, but instead of reward, they were now being punished.

Mr Yousafzai stressed that this was the time for unity and warned that if Pashtuns lost patience, no one would be able to control the situation.

Theleadersurgedthegovernment and institutions to act responsibly and restore order.

The participants offered Fateha for the departed soul of Maulana Zeb.

The ANP also announced a three-day mourning period across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and vowed to get an FIR registered against the government and other responsible parties for Khan Zeb`s killing.