Tribal rivalry: JUI-F leader, two others shot dead

Official claims Sahibzada and Khan were shot accidently.

DI KHAN:

Three people including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) president of the party’s Frontier Region (FR) Darazinda chapter were killed and four others injured in a shootout between two rival groups on Saturday.

An official of the political administration of Frontier Region (FR) Darazinda said JUI-F President Sahibzada Abdul Salam Shirani along with his friend Speen Khan were sitting inside Pakistan Hotel along with other companions when Shirani tribesmen rushed in and opened fire at their adversaries.

The official added the assailants escaped, while Sahibzada, Khan and the others were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital.

“Sahibzada died on the way while his friend Khan succumbed to injuries at the hospital,” the official added. He, however, said Sahibzada and Khan were not the actual targets and that the tribesmen actually wanted to kill their adversaries.

The official said a man sitting beside Sahibzada was also killed by his rival, identified as Pir Shah Shirani. The injured include Ghulam Haider, Faziullah Shirani, Bindarak Shah and Wahwan Shirani.

A local said members of the two rival Shirani tribes are always armed and leave no chance of attacking each other.

Contingents of Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Khasadar force reached the site after the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2013.