Targeted attack: Man gunned down, two daughters injured

Police say attack was based on victim’s sect.

PESHAWAR: A man identified as Malik Jarrar Ali Haider was killed and his two minor daughters were injured when their motorbike was ambushed by gunmen on Mohammad Ali Johar Road Thursday morning.

Police said Malik Jarrar, an employee of the Afghan Refugees Commissionerate in Hayatabad, was taking his daughters Bisma and Rubab to school when the incident occurred. Malik Jarrar died on the spot while his daughters, five-year-old Bisma and 10-year-old Rubab, were injured.

The police added the assailants managed to escape after committing the crime. The two injured children were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) where he is in stable condition.

Law-enforcement officers said he was killed in a targeted sectarian attack but the man’s family contends he never adhered to the sect.

“This is a target killing motivated by sectarianism as the man had no enemies,” said an investigation official from Khan Raziq station, adding this was the second such incident in recent times. The policeman said an ice-cream seller from the Shia community was killed outside a mosque in the last month. However, one of his relatives said Malik Jarrar is one of six brothers, four of whom adhered to the Shia sect. However, two brothers, including Malik Jarrar they said, remained Sunnis.

A different MO

“The gunmen were on foot,” the police official told The Express Tribune. He added the victims were on their way from Mohalla Marviha. “Unlike other attacks, a TT pistol was used this time instead of a 9mm,” said the Khan Raziq officer. He pointed out the attackers managed to escape without drawing much attention.

Namaz-e-Janaza for Malik Jarrar was offered at around 4:30 pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2015.