Cop martyred in North Waziristan

JUI-F candidate for PK-19 escapes unhurt in Bajaur roadside bomb explosion

MIRANSHAH/ BAJAUR:

Yet another policeman was gunned down in the troubled North Waziristan tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Wednesday.

In a separate incident, a candidate of Jamiat Uelema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) came under a roadside bomb attack in Bajaur, causing widespread panic among the local residents.

Police told The Express Tribune that unidentified miscreants opened fire on Constable Jan Alam outside a bank in Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan.

He said that the unfortunate constable was there to withdraw his salary and was targeted on his way back home. His body was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital Mir Ali where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

“He was the resident of Harmaz village and the attackers once again managed to escape unchallenged after committing the crime,” said the official of the local police station, adding a large contingent of police reached there and launched a door-to-door search operation but there was no trace of the attackers.

Police registered an FIR and opened investigation in the case.

Police said that it was without any doubt a case of terrorism as the cop had no personal feud with anyone.

It may be recalled that just a day ago, six non-local young barbers were slaughtered in an incident of sinister violence that seeks to capitalise on ethnic faultlines in North Waziristan where four terrorists, including a would-be suicide bomber, were also eliminated in an intelligence based operation (IBO) on Tuesday.

Read 21 policemen martyred in shootouts

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the sickening slaughter in the Mir Ali tehsil of North Waziristan, but the banned umbrella of terrorist outfits, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, maintains a presence in the region.

The bodies of the six men were discovered in the fields of Moski village, located in Mir Ali. Preliminary investigation suggests that the victims, all of whom hailed from Punjab, were shot dead execution style.

The victims, all below 30 years of age, included two youths less than 18 years’ old, hence without national identity cards (NICs). All of them were barbers, having recently migrated to North Waziristan to pursue their trade. Sources reveal that the victims owned barber shops in Mir Ali Bazaar.

According to sources, the barbers were reported to have been kidnapped before meeting their tragic end. They were abducted under the cloak of darkness and subsequently murdered by unidentified assailants. It was not until morning that the bodies were spotted by locals in the fields, who immediately alerted the law enforcers. The bodies were shifted to Mir Ali Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Meanwhile, four terrorists were killed in an intelligence based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan. As per a statement of the military’s media wing, intense fire exchange took place between troops and the terrorists during the conduct of operation.

On the other hand, JUI-F candidate for PK-19 Mamond, Qari Kherullah escaped unhurt in a roadside bomb blast in Lowy Mamond area of Bajaur.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2024.