The body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for the autopsy. Family members, relatives and a large number of party leaders and workers reached the hospital and shouted slogans against the killing. They demanded that the culprits should be arrested immediately.
Police officials said that the incident took place when Ziauddin, son of Muhammad Ismail, was returning home from the masjid after offering Isha prayers. They added that two men riding a motorcycle opened fire at him.
Ziauddin, who hails from Swat, isn't the first leader of the ANP to be targeted this way - several leaders and party workers have been killed in the past in bomb blasts and target killings in District West - mainly Orangi and Baldia Town.
In September last year, the Bomb Disposal Squad defused a bomb planted outside Dr Ziauddin's residence in Orangi Town. The bomb was found after the police was informed about a suspicious bag lying outside Ziauddin's house in Frontier Morr, Orangi Town. The bomb was concealed in a box of sweets and contained around 2.5 kilogrammes of explosive material. The police added that it was attached to a remote-controlled device.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had reportedly threatened to kill Ziauddin, who was also a former Union Council nazim of the area, after he refused to pay them Rs1 million in extortion. The Taliban had allegedly threatened him to quit the party and had warned of dire consequences if he did not comply.
ANP leaders condemned the incident and termed it a failure of the government and law enforcement agencies. According to the party's spokesperson, if the government had arrested the culprits of the previous killings and attacks, this would not have happened today.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2014.
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