PESHAWAR: Gunmen shot dead two members of an anti-Taliban peace committee in Swat valley, police said Friday.
The shooting will heighten fears of a campaign of targeted killings in Swat, as in the last four months, two businessmen and outspoken anti-militant campaigners have been shot dead and two others wounded.
The latest incident took place in the Charbagh area, a former militant stronghold some 10 kilometres north of Mingora, the main town of Swat valley.
Police said gunmen opened fire on Tajim Gul late Thursday, in front of a mosque while Sardar Mohammad was gunned down at his home.
"In both incidents the attackers managed to flee. We have registered a case against the unknown attackers," Liaqat Ali, an official in Charbagh police station told AFP. Daidar Ghani, another police official, confirmed the incident.
Mohammad's five-year-old son was injured in the shooting
Residents said both victims were members of local peace committee and they blamed Taliban for the killing.
All four victims before Malala Yousufzai, a teenage peace activist who was shot by Taliban gunmen, were senior members of an anti-militancy group.
Malala, who won international recognition for a blog about the horrors of life under the Taliban and a campaign for the right to an education, is the highest-profile target of militants in Swat for more than three years.
The army declared Swat, once known as the "Switzerland of Pakistan", back under control in July 2009, after defeating Maulana Fazlullah and his Taliban fighters who waged a two-year campaign of terror in the district.
The operation was arguably Pakistan's most successful offensive to date against the homegrown insurgents who have bombed and killed thousands across the country for the last five years.
COMMENTS (16)
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@SalSal Think again, may be they dont want to defeat the Taliban... Do you see any spark here...
@SalSal and Basit: The Americans don't need to defeat the Taliban; they will just pack up and leave. We can't.
Second, since you guys are so fond of bashing liberals, what are your proposals? How do you aim to negotiate with the Taliban when they don't want to talk to you. You just said that the Taliban can not be defeated. If naturally follows that if they can't be defeated, they will negotiate with Pakistan on their own terms. The TTP seeks control of Pakistan; are you prepared to fulfill the demand?
salsal: nice said.
Liberals never learn from their own mistakes. Military operations are not working for even the world superpower.
They kill with impunity and our religious parties are busy giving justifications for them. Shame on those aiding and abetting them by silence.
@Cautious If America's army, who is funded with 100s of billions of dollars can't defeat the Taliban and hold on to their areas, how can u expect Pakistan to do that?
@ahmed41: Swat needs a large mental hospital
Not just Swat,there are many people in the world who should be treated in mental hospital...
@Salman: So what would you have Pakistan do? Surrender to the Taliban and hand over the area?
And we thought that Army has already cleared that part of the country 3 yrs back. So much for militarily operations. Good for nothing yet people are calling for it all the time.
@ahmed41
No - you need to get that large and expensive army to do it's job.
There needs to be better co-ordination and intelligence sharing to prevent such kind of incidents. After the clean up operation by the Army, the local government and the Military needs to put in a system where the extremists can be weeded out. This needs a grass roots effort. Eventually, Swat can become a model for the rest of the country.
There is no lack of understanding just a lack of will.
The term "anti-Taliban elders" just sort of shows a lack of understanding the AFP has about the sensitive issues of the Taliban, security forces and aman lashkers/peace militias in the area.
The Taliban kill any one who is not for them . Swat needs a large mental hospital !!!!