October 10, 2025
By Kaleem Ullah
LAHORE
Three senior leaders of the Marwat-Bettani Qaumi Tehreek were killed on Friday morning, with their bodies dumped, near the Tochi Bridge in Bannu. The leaders had been abducted two days ago by armed men from Momand Khel Peepal Bazaar, near Bannu Cantt, while returning from a visit to Baran Dam as part of a campaign to secure water rights from the dam. The slain elders were identified as Waliullah, Farmanullah, and Attaullah.
After post-mortems were conducted at the District Headquarters Hospital in Bannu, the bodies were handed over to the MBQT. They were later transferred to Lakki Marwat, where the movement called a protest at Gandi Chowk on the Indus Highway.
The Chairman of the MBQT, Inamullah Khan, appealed to all Pashtun tribes, saying, “Bring your weapons and gather at Gandi Chowk on the Indus Highway, where the bodies will be placed,” he announced. “These are the martyrs of our nation. Through these bodies, we will demand from the state: why were our colleagues and leaders killed, who ordered these killings, and what action has been taken against those responsible?”
Late last night, Inamullah Marwat appeared in a video message alongside the released taxi driver who was being abducted with the missing leaders. He stated that the movement’s armed members had gone to Tehti Khel — the area from where the leaders were kidnapped — to bring them back forcefully. But the local elders of Tehti Khel had assured the movement that negotiations were underway with the kidnappers. As a result, the taxi driver from Tajori was released, while the abductors asked for more time until the next day to decide the fate of the three leaders.
Marwat-Bettani Qaumi Tehreek, alleged that for two days neither Bannu police nor other security agencies responded to the abduction; instead, they waited as the leaders remained in captivity until today, when the three were found shot dead on the roadside near Tochi Bridge in Bannu.
However, a senior Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) official told Voicepk that security forces had not taken immediate action because they had been informed — and the movement itself had announced on social media — that local elders were negotiating with the kidnappers. In the meanwhile, CTD was preparing an action plan after the negotiation when they received reports in the morning that the three leaders had been killed. The official further added that “CTD would pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice very soon”.
The MBQT comprises of the Marwat and Bettani tribes of Lakki Marwat. It was formed to secure water rights from the Marwat Canal for the district and to demand peace in the area amid a worsening law and order situation. The Canal is a key irrigation infrastructure in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in the Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts. It draws water from the Baran Dam and serves as a lifeline for the region’s agricultural lands.
In their struggle to secure water rights, the people of Lakki Marwat have held multiple protests demanding the restoration of water flow to the Marwat Canal, which has caused widespread agricultural losses due to prolonged dryness. The most recent demonstration took place on July 15, organized by the MBQT. Armed members of the movement attempted to march toward Baran Dam in Bannu to protest and divert water into the canal themselves. However, police intercepted them in Ghoriwala, a town on the Bannu border.
It is worth noting that the three slain leaders had gone to Baran Dam to assess the water levels and plan their next course of action. On their way back, they were abducted by members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Peepal Bazaar in the Momond Khel area of Bannu. According to the movement, the leaders were held hostage in a government school facility; however, Voicepk has not independently verified this claim.