Spate of violence: Six killed, seven injured in separate incidents

Rival groups open fire at each other over dysfunctional transformer in Swabi.

PESHAWAR/ BANNU:

Six people were killed and seven others were injured in various incidents in Swabi and Bannu districts on Friday.

In a dispute over the repair of a transformer, three persons were killed and four others injured in Yaqubi village of Swabi district on Friday.

SHO Ijaz Khan of Yar Hussain police station said the dispute occurred between two rival groups, who are also related to one another, over the collection of money for the repair of a dysfunctional transformer in their area.

Ijaz added that both parties had earlier agreed to collect money for the cause, because the area had been deprived of electricity for some time. He said a scuffle broke out between the two groups, who opened fire at each other, claiming the lives of three persons on the spot.

The SHO further said that two children, a woman and a passerby, Hamza, were admitted to DHQ Hospital Mardan, where their condition is said to be critical. The SHO, along with a police contingent, rushed to the spot and registered an FIR against the accused.

The first incident in Bannu occurred in the limits of Cantonment police station, where Sajid Khan, a resident of Tapi Kala, told the police that his brother Naveed Khan was in Kotka Faqir Kala when he was gunned down by unidentified men.

Police filed the complaint and arrested Bashir Khan, who was also shot injured, on suspicion. Further investigation into the case is under way.

Meanwhile, a resident of Naray Pul, Akhtar Bibi told the police she was at home when her father Muhammad Yaqub and brother Noor Muhammad began an argument over a family issue. Bibi said her father got infuriated during the argument and allegedly axed Noor to death.

Ghoriwala police filed the complaint and began a search for the accused killer, who was missing at the time this report was filed.

In an incident near the old vegetable market in Bannu, Faizan and Umer Qayaz, residents of Mandan, allegedly killed Najibullah, a resident of Ismail Khel. The accused fled after the incident as police kicked off a search for them.

Similarly, an internally displaced person, Naik Shad, was shot injured by unidentified men near Bannu Sports Complex. The FIR of the incident had not been registered till the filing of this report.

Another report filed with Cantonment police in Bannu stated that three unidentified armed men shot Muqeem Shah, a resident of Garhi Saidan, when he was near Sorangi Adda. The report mentioned that Shah was injured in the incident and rushed to a nearby hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2014.