In the line of fire: Colonel shot dead in Peshawar

PESHAWAR:

A Pakistan Army colonel was shot dead by gunmen in the posh Hayatabad neighbourhood of Peshawar Sunday afternoon. Colonel Tahir, deployed in Rawalpindi, belonged to the Kaga Wala area of Peshawar and was in the city to attend a wedding.

“We were told the man was a serving colonel and deployed in Rawalpindi,” said a local policeman. “He [Col Tahir] came to Peshawar to attend a wedding and was targeted in Phase-III near Abaseen Market.”

The officer told The Express Tribune that the killers were riding a motorcycle and fled the scene unidentified and unchallenged. He said this appeared to be a targeted killing, but added that the situation would become clear once an FIR is lodged by the victim’s relatives.

A security forces official said two brothers of Colonel Tahir had been killed in the past. He also believed this was a targeted attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2015.