Targeted attack: Bannu police constable gunned down

Farooq Shah was returning home when masked gunmen intercepted him.

BANNU: A police constable was gunned down by unidentified militants in Sheikhan area of Bannu on Monday.

Constable Hafiz Muhammad Farooq Shah of the Township police station, who is also a cleric, was returning home from work at around 9am when two masked gunmen intercepted him and opened fire. Shah was injured while the assailants managed to escape.

“I was shocked to hear one of our best constables was shot by militants,” said Township SHO Muhammad Nabi Shah, adding Shah would usually go home to rest as his village Sheikhan was nearby. Following the incident, locals rushed him to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital.

DHQ Medical Superintendent Dr Iqbal Marwat said Shah had sustained multiple bullet wounds when locals brought him in a van and he was immediately taken to the operation theatre. However, Shah succumbed to his injuries when doctors were operating on his chest, added Marwat.

Shah was shot 12 times by militants at point-blank range with assault rifles, he said. The body was shifted to Shaheed Iqbal Marwat police station where Bannu District Police Officer Ghafoor Afridi and other officials attended his funeral prayers. The deceased was then taken to his hometown for burial. A case has been registered against unidentified militants and an investigation is underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2013