Kidnapping case: Retired colonel, police officer shot dead

Shakil Ahmed Tariq killed by his own abductors, suspected militants escape.

PESHAWAR:

A retired army colonel and a constable were killed in Kohat by suspected militants during an encounter with the police.

Two police officers were also injured in the clash.

A police official said that the incident occurred on Saturday, when suspected militants kidnapped a retired army colonel identified as Shakil Ahmed Tariq.

The official said that the colonel was on his way to the mosque to offer Fajr prayers when militants intercepted him and bundled him into a car at gunpoint. Soon after receiving this information, police tightened security at checkpoints across the city.

When the kidnappers came across a patrol party of the police at Dhoda Chowk, they opened fire, leaving a constable identified as Hamid Ali Shah dead.

They also shot the abducted colonel, fearing a police chase.

The militants later left the body in the car and escaped into the mountains, the official added.  Police later shifted the bodies to a hospital, where after conducting an autopsy the bodies were given to the family. A search operation has been launched by security officials in the area to locate the kidnappers.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2011.