BAJAUR: The much-publicised `Bajaur Aman Pasoon` (peace rally) planned for Sunday (today) was postponed after the local administration refused to grant permission to its organisers owing to security reasons, sources said on Saturday.

They told Dawn that the Bajaur Peace Action Committee had called the peace rally to press the authorities for taking solid measures to improve the prevailing poor law and order situation in the region.

The sources said deputy commissioner Shahid Ali Khan and district police officer Waqas Rafique informed a delegation of the action committee that Sunday was not feasible for the gathering owing to the prevailing security situation in the district.

The delegation included PTI MPAs Anwarzeb Khan, Dr Hamidur Rahman, Khar tehsil council chairman and JUI-F leader Haji Said Badshah, PML-N local chapter president Malik Gul Kareem Khan, Bajaur Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Haji Lali Shah, Shah Naser Khan of ANP and some elders.

However, the sources said the officials promised to ensure proper se curity arrangement s if the action committee decided to hold the gathering after at least two weeks.

The action committee agreed to delay the rally till February 9.

Later, leaders of the action committee confirmed the postponement of the peace rally during a presser at the press club.

On the other hand, political and social activists, including the Pakistan Peoples Party`s provincial leader and former lawmaker Sayed Akhunzada Chattan, regretted the postponement of the planned rally, terming the decision unwise.

In a post shared on social media, the PPP leader said that he was very disappointed after knowing that the much-publicised Bajaur Aman Pasoon, which was planned for today (Sunday), had been postponed by its organisers without taking the local residents into confidence.