A senior civil officer was among three people killed in an attack by militants on a joint gathering at Mirali, one of the main towns of North Waziristan Agency, on Tuesday. Mirali Assistant Political Agent Azmat Jamal Khattak was chairing a high-level joint meeting when an unidentified attacker hurled hand grenades and fired on the gathering. The participants included leading tribal elders from both Utman Wazir and Dawar tribes. Officials said a jirga between the APA and tribal elders was in progress inside Scouts Fort when attacker opened fire on the APA. Later he hurled a hand grenade. As a result of the firing, APA Azmat Jamal sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Bannu Combined Military Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Two others killed were identified as personnel of traditional Khasadar Forces. Soon after the incident, officials closed all gates of the fort and APA office commonly known as Tehsil. Besides jirga members, the forces detained a large number of people, including civilians. The tribesmen from Mirali informed that the detained people included visitors to NADRA office. No one had claimed responsibility for the killing so far, but tribesmen said Azmat Jamal was recently transferred from Tank. The jirga was meant to resolve electricity transmission and low voltage issues between Khadi Dawar and Mirali Wazir.
