Motive unknown: Tribal elder shot dead in Jamrud

JAMRUD:

A tribal elder was gunned down while his friend was critically wounded in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency on Friday.

Irshad Mohmand, an official of Jamrud tehsil, said tribal elder Malik Matak Afridi and his friend Marwat Khan were ambushed near Malikabad when they were on their way to attend a jirga.

Matak died on the spot whereas Khan was severely injured. The assailant, meanwhile, managed to escape. According to Mohmand, Khan has identified the gunman as Mumtaz, who is allegedly a drug addict and has been involved in a series of illegal activities.

However, it has yet to be ascertained whether the incident was a case of personal vendetta or militancy. A case has been registered and further investigation is under way.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 13^th, 2014.