City police official says due to recent surge in targeted killings of Shias, district govt put ban on pillion riding. PHOTO: FILE
A district revenue official was killed and another injured when unidentified militants opened fire at them in their office on Friday.
District Police Officer Iftikhar Ahmad said two militants riding a motorcycle approached Hassan Raza’s office in Garhi Bazaar and opened fire, killing Raza on the spot and severely injuring his colleague Mujtaba.
Ahmad along with a heavy contingent of police, rushed to site, while major routes were blocked and a search operation was launched by other policemen on the outskirts of the city.
Another official of the City police said due to the recent surge in targeted killings of Shias, the district government has put a ban on pillion riding in the city and its outskirts.
After the incident, residents of Ibrahimzai, the area where Raza resided, along with the deceased’s family members blocked the Kohat-Hangu Road and demanded the transfers of Hangu DPO and deputy commissioner over their failure to curb the killing of Shias in government service.
Ibne Ali and Haidar Hussain, elders of the area, said it is clear that militants are trying to target government officials belonging to the sect but the state is not taking any measures to stop them. The elders lamented that not a single militant involved in targeting Shia teachers and officials has been arrested as yet.
Residents later placed Raza’s body in front of Hangu Press Club and chanted slogans against the government, demanding a Shuhada Package for the officials killed in the recent past and the arrest of the culprits within 24 hours. They threatened to block all major roads of the city if their demands were not met.
After nearly two hours into the protest, Hangu Additional Deputy Commissioner Shahabuddin visited the protesters at 11am and assured them their demands will be accepted, after which the protesters scattered peacefully and the family took the body for burial.
Later, talking to journalists, members of the Hangu Sunni Council condemned the incident and said militants in the area were trying to sabotage the city’s peace, adding the district government should focus on restoring peace. They termed the recent targeted attacks the failure of police and demanded the provincial government to arrest those responsible and punish them according to the law.
On February 14, a primary school teacher was shot and injured by militants on the outskirts of the city while on February 10, three schoolteachers were gunned down while returning from school in Kach Bandha.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 1st, 2014.
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