Multiple assaults: Pro-govt tribal elder, police official killed in separate attacks

ASI Younas Khan gunned down while en route to Tangi police station.

PESHAWAR/ CHARSADDA: A pro-government tribal elder and a police official were gunned down while two others were injured in separate attacks in Peshawar and Charsadda on Tuesday.

Tribal malik Haji Sadat Sher from Gandao in Mohmand Agency was travelling in a taxi en route to Peshawar when motorcyclists ambushed the vehicle on Charsadda Road near Budhni Pul, severely injuring both the driver and Sadat. The injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital but Sadat died on the way.

“Haji Sadat Sher was an influential figure in Mohmand Agency as he is the brother of Malik Amir Muhammad Nawaz Khan,” said a Khazana police official, adding taxi driver Sher Afzal was also critically injured. “This is an incident of target killing as both the brothers were receiving threats from militants due to their affiliation with the government and their stance against militancy,” he explained.

Meanwhile, a police official was killed and his companion injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at them in Mandani, Charsadda.

ASI Younas Khan was on his way from Ghunda Khel Zayam with a friend, Muslim, on his motorcycle when assailants on another motorbike intercepted them near Technical College, Tangi in the jurisdiction of Kinawar police station. Younas was killed on the spot, while Muslim was injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, said Tangi DSP Raza Khan.

DSP Raza informed Younas was on his way to Tangi police station to assume charge, adding he was earlier serving at the district police office.

The DSP speculated the incident was a case of target killing. Younas’s cousin Abdur Rashid has filed an FIR against unidentified gunmen.

Attacks on police officials have escalated in the wake of the May 11 general elections. Last Friday, ASI Sajjad and Constable Muhammad Arshad were killed by unidentified assailants in Charsadda and Mardan, respectively, while another police official of Rajjar area was gunned down on Monday.



Police official Hasan Khan Sardehri said Sajjad was employed as a security officer in the district police office on Mardan Road and was commuting to work on his motorcycle when the gunman attacked him. The deceased’s wife told the police Sajjad had no personal enmities.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2013.