Social worker falls prey to target killing

With the demise of Jahangir Khan, people fear decline in women education.


Shabbir Mir December 29, 2011

GILGIT:


Target killings in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) have claimed yet another life in the capital city of the mountain region.


Jahangir Khan, a social worker, was shot dead on a busy road in Jutial in broad daylight this week.

Hailing from Diamer valley, Khan was a strong proponent of women’s education in an area with around five per cent female literacy rate, according to a report. Just days before he was killed, he told The Express Tribune that his goal in life was to educate women in Diamer for which he had formed an NGO called the Oswa Welfare and Development Organisation. The NGO had held a seminar in Gilgit in November, at which Khan had blamed the government for depriving women of education in his speech. He also ran a primary school in his village and wanted the media to project his work. He had a vision and a road map to implement his plans in the valley.

However, time did not permit him to fulfil his dreams.

According to one of Khan’s friends, he was killed over personal enmity. However, his relatives have refused to divulge any details. Nonetheless, they blame the police of protecting the perpetrators of his murder.

“We have nominated suspects for his murder but the police seem reluctant to arrest them,” said one of his relatives. His brutal murder has sparked fear and panic among people in Gilgit, who believe his death is a huge setback to women’s education in G-B, especially in Diamer.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2011.

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