Extremists pull down two shrines in Khyber

Sources say the Basai Baba shrine had earlier been shut down by the banned religious extremist group Lashkar-e-Islam.

PESHAWAR:

Religious extremists attacked two shrines of Sufi saints and killed the caretaker of another one in the Khyber Agency, an official confirmed on Saturday.

The official from the political administration told The Express Tribune that extremists destroyed two historical shrines in the Kam Shalman area, in the Landikotal subdivision of Khyber Agency, at around 10:30 pm on December 9.

“The shrines were those of Sufi saints Sheikh Bahadur Baba and Sheikh Nisa Baba,” he said. “Bahadar Baba’s shrine was dynamited, while Sheikh Nisa’s shrine was set on fire,” the official said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. But in the past the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) carried out similar attacks in the region.

Caretaker killed

A middle-aged man was killed by gunmen at the shrine of saint Baisai Baba on Saturday.

Local authorities could not immediately confirm the victim’s identity, but he was recognised as the “caretaker of the shrine”.

Sources said the Basai Baba shrine had earlier been shut down by the banned religious extremist group Lashkar-e-Islam. More than 25 shrines across Pakistan have been attacked since 2005, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 people.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2011.