Gun attack: Policemen among three killed in Lower Dir

Attackers target brother of a local JI leader; one of the assailants detained

TIMERGARA: Three people, including two policemen, were killed and a pedestrian suffered injuries in a string of firing incidents on Monday morning in the Lower Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa (K-P).

A police official said Sohail Khan, brother of a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Shad Nawaz, was en route to Timergara when gunmen riding in another car opened fire on his vehicle at the Rabaat Wagai area of Khal. Sohail Khan died on the spot.

Later, the fleeing attackers also sprayed bullets on police when they tried intercepting them in a nearby market. As a result, two policemen received serious injuries while a college student sustained gunshot wounds.

After the incident, police and rescuers shifted the dead and the injured to the nearby District Headquarters Hospital where the policemen, identified as Fazal Wahab and Zubair, succumbed to their injuries. The pedestrian was being treated in the hospital but his condition was said to be stable.

The official said the police and locals later pursued the attackers, who, in a bid to escape, left their car before jumping into a nearby stream. However, the pursuers managed to catch one of the attackers. “The attacker has been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation,” he said.

After the incident, the law enforcers launched a massive manhunt in the Panjkora and Rabaat areas of Lower Dir. However, no more arrests were made till the filing of this report.

The police official said it was not clear whether the attack represented an act of terrorism or was a result of personal feud. “A case has been registered against the attackers, who happen to be brothers, and a probe has been initiated to find out the real motive behind the assault,” he added.

Funeral prayers of the police personnel were held in the evening in Police Lines of Balambat. The dead bodies were later handed over to the families.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2016.