Targeted over association: Militants shoot, injure father and son

Residents protest against the hospital’s medical staff for being absent from duty.

SWAT:

A man and his son who were previously associated with a local village defence committee were shot and injured by unidentified militants in Banar on Thursday.

Banar police official Anwar Khan said Adalat Khan reported that he, along with his brother Parwanat Khan and father Ghori Bacha, had gone to a nearby mosque for Fajr prayers after which he came straight home while his father and brother stayed outside the mosque. He added at around 6:35am, he heard gunshots and saw his father and brother lying wounded when he came out to enquire.

The police official said residents rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to Saidu Teaching Hospital, however, due to the unavailability of doctors they had to take them to a private clinic. Residents later protested against the hospital’s medical staff for being absent from duty. The police official added the hospital’s Medical Superintendent Dr Khursheed has initiated an inquiry against hospital officials.

Anwar said Adalat and Parwanat’s other brother, Bakht Taj, was chief of the Banar village defence committee which has been very active against militants in Swat. Taj died last year of natural causes after which his family members began receiving threats. “It was a clear incident of targeted killing,” he said, adding a case was filed against unidentified militants and an investigation is under way.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2014.