Nine of a family killed over ‘marital dispute’

At least nine people were killed on Wednesday after armed assailants opened fire on them while they were asleep in a house in Bagardara area of Batkhela Tehsil, Malakand.

According to police and rescue officials, the suspects broke into the house at around 2am and opened indiscriminate fire on the sleeping family, killing men, women and children of the house allegedly over a marital dispute.

Based on information collected thus far, officials of the Malakand Levies force suspect that the murders were committed by a son-in-law of the house.

The suspect’s wife was reportedly staying in her maiden home after a dispute with him. When the suspect failed to resolve the quarrel with his wife, he barged into her home and murdered the family before fleeing.

The police believe that the suspect hails from Swat.

Read Protection against violence

The deceased were identified as Hasan Shah, Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Bilal, Zohran, Zehran, Rabia, Ruqqaya Bibi and Habiba, wife of Hasan Shah.

A case was registered against the killings and further investigation is underway, claim officials.

Residents of the area and aggrieved family members staged a protest against the horrifying murders and called for justice.

Earlier this month, a woman, her daughter and sister were killed in their house in Mumtazabad, Multan, by unidentified miscreants. The police said that the bodies were at least three days old when they were retrieved. 

Asma Bibi, another daughter of the slain woman, told the police she lived in Rahim Yar Khan and had travelled to Multan when she could not reach her mother over the phone for several days. When she reached her mother's house, Asma found the main door locked from inside. When nobody responded, Asma summoned help from the people in the neighborhood who jumped over the wall and into the house where they found her mother, aunt and sister lying dead.

Police were then informed about the incident. They arrived at the crime scene and had the bodies shifted to the Nishtar Hospital for postmortem examination.

It was suspected that the three women had been poisoned to death. Last month four of a family were found killed in Bahawalpur.