National Awami Party (Wali) - Liaqat Bagh Massacre

Liaqat Bagh Massacre

On March 23, 1973, the Federal Security Force(FSF), a paramilitary force under the alleged orders of Bhutto, attacked a public opposition rally at the Liaquat Bagh in the town of Rawalpindi and killed a dozen people; many more were wounded by their automatic gunfire. Wali Khan narrowly escaped a bullet during the attack. Public anger amongst ethnic Pashtuns ran high, as almost all the dead and most of the wounded were from the NWFP and were mostly members of the National Awami Party. The enraged party workers and followers wanted to parade the dead bodies on the streets in Peshawar and other cities of the province, and provoke a full scale confrontation. Wali Khan rejected this notion and held back his infuriated party cadres, escorting the dead bodies to Peshawar; he had them buried quietly with their bereaved families.

Following the massacre the FSF launched a crackdown against the party that led to many senior leaders including Ajmal Khattak to flee into exile to Kabul.