Local cleric gunned down
A local cleric was gunned down by unidentified person on the outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday.
Police told The Express Tribune that Maulana Ijaz Ahmad Haqqani, the head of a local seminary in Masho Khel village, was killed early in the morning when he was on his way to mosque to offer his morning prayers.
“He was hit in the head and died on the spot. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival,” said a police official, adding that police reached the site of the attack and conducted a door-to-door search operation but the attacker had managed to escape.
“Police found empty shells of TT pistol from the site of the attack which were taken into possession,” he added.
Police registered an FIR on the complaint of Mahad, a brother of the deceased Maulana, in which he stated that his brother was killed near the main gate of the mosque.
The murder caused widespread panic in the village which saw deadly terrorist attacks in the past including the blowing up of girls and boys school and kidnapping and murder of Awami National Party (ANP) leaders.
An investigation team has been constituted by police to investigate the case from all aspects.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2023.