Pakistan: Thousands protest alleged killing of youngsters by military

Protests erupted in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday as thousands of people demanded government probe into deaths of four youngsters who they alleged were tortured and killed by security forces. The protesters tried to march on the city of Bannu and broke through police blockade.

Police fired tear gas to prevent protesters from entering Bannu.

The protesters were carrying the bodies of the four young men, aged between 15 and 20, found in a shallow grave on March 21 in the town of Jani Khel, outside Bannu.

"The government didn’t pay any attention to us and left us alone to mourn the slain boys," Haji Mohammad Wali, one of the protesters, told Reuters by phone.

Relatives of the dead, alleging they died during interrogation by security forces, held a sit-in in Jani Khel for nearly a week, refusing to bury the bodies until an investigation was opened against an army officer they said was responsible.

A Pakistani military spokesman declined to comment about the incident on Sunday, and the military has not commented publicly on the case.

The central government has not commented on the case.

(With Reuters inputs)