Security check gone awry: Community police official killed

MINGORA: A community police official was killed while another was injured by assailants during a security check in Tahirabad, Swat on Wednesday. Rahimabad police official Muhammad Hanif said community police officers Shaukat Ali and Farman Khan were deployed for security checks at Bhatti Chowk. The two officials had stopped three suspects for a routine check which resulted in an argument after the suspects refused to comply. When the policemen insisted, the suspects opened fire and severely injured both officials, said Hanif. “Shaukat succumbed to his injuries and Farman was taken to the Saidu Sharif Hospital. The assailants escaped after the incident.” Police and security forces rushed to the site, surrounded the area and launched a search operation. The culprits were later arrested. One of the men was identified as Gul Yar, a resident of Rahimabad, while the names of the others could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2013.