‘Land mafia’ shoots dead social activist, father in K-P

Sheeba Gul, a social activist hailing from Khyber-Paktunkhwa’s Malakand district, was shot dead along with her father two weeks after she had asked for protection amid death threats from influential land grabbers.

On September 11, Sheeba – daughter of Karim Bakhsh while addressing a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club – had said that the notorious land mafia had occupied her ancestral property with connivance of local administration. "The court has ruled in our favour," she had said.

Despite the court verdict, the victim had claimed that the authorities concerned were not taking any action against the accused. “The land mafia forcibly harvested crop worth around seven to eight million rupees and a few days ago they also sold land worth nearly Rs5 million from our agriculture land,” Sheeba had told the media.

The victim went on to say that the accused had threatened her family of serious consequences including issuing life threat.

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Sheeba said she had also made a written complaint against the accused to the authorities but to no avail.

On Thursday, unidentified assailants opened fire at the duo, leaving them dead on the spot. The suspects managed to flee the scene unchallenged.

Police have registered a case against Inamullah, son of Saleem Asghar, and launched investigation into the matter. However, the accused are still at large.

The Sheeba’s family has appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan, chief minister and other authorities to ensure justice and take the culprits to the task.