Target killings: Four dead in botched attack on tribal elder in Peshawar

Malik Astana Gul was not present at the time of assault.

PESHAWAR: Four men died on Friday in a bomb attack targeting a tribal elder in the Pishta Khara area of the city, officials said.

The tribal elder from the Bara sub-district of Khyber Agency, Malik Astana Gul, survived because he wasn’t present in the two-storey building which was attacked by unidentified men. Gul runs a real estate business and the building was used as his Hujra (guest house).

One of the deceased was identified as Ghazi, who died while he was being taken to a hospital for treatment. Two unidentified bodies, one of which belonged to a middle-aged man, were pulled out from the rubble by rescuers.

A renowned doctor, his friend and another tribal elder were present in the building when the attack took place, according to Lal Marjan, a relative of Gul. Around 70 per cent of the building collapsed due to the force of the explosion.

Malik Astana Gul, the elder of Malikdin Khel, had not received any threats in the past.

Senior provincial Minister Bashir Bilour said about 23-30 kg of explosives were used in the attack in which a Suzuki pick-up was used. A bomb disposal squad official confirmed Bilour’s suspicions.

This is the second attack on a tribal elder from Khyber Agency. On January 30, tribal leader Haji Akhunzada was killed in the Pakha Ghulam area, on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2012.