In cold blood: PPP leader shot dead by militants

Former nazim Fazal Hayat Chattan was heading home after prayers when the killers struck.

MINGORA: The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the murder of a former nazim and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader, Fazal Hayat Chattan, who was shot dead late Wednesday evening in Qambar, Swat.

According to Rahimabad police, Fazal Hayat Chattan was returning home after Isha prayers when the gunmen who were waiting for him opened fire. The PPP leader was severely injured while the attackers managed to flee.



Police and security forces arrived at the crime scene and initiated a search for the shooters after imposing a curfew, while locals and Chattan’s relatives shifted him to Saidu Teaching Hospital where he breathed his last.

However, due to the unavailability of an ambulance, the former nazim’s body could not be shifted to his house. This sparked anger among his relatives and party workers who blocked Saidu Sharif-Mingora Road in protest, chanting slogans against the hospital administration and government.

The deceased was later shifted to his house in a police vehicle.

On Thursday, in a phone call made to local media, the TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.

The district’s political leaders and elders have expressed grief over Chattan’s death and concerns over deteriorating law and order.

“This is failure of the government and law-enforcement agencies that cannot provide security to citizens. The killers should be arrested immediately,” said Dost Muhammad Khan, a local PPP leader.

Increasing incidents of target killings in Swat for the past few months has led locals to question the role of law-enforcement agencies present in the valley.

“These killers can easily reach their target, shoot him and escape undetected. It’s strange that they never get apprehended,” said Iqbal khan, a political activist in Qambar.

Since 2009, around 22 village defence committee members have been shot dead by unidentified people in a similar manner. No arrests have been made thus far.

Swat DPO Sher Akbar Khan, however, assured the media a special team has been constituted to investigate Wednesday’s attack.

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