At least four people, including a police officer and a leading tribal elder were killed and several others were injured in separate incidents of violence in Peshawar and Bannu on Wednesday.
According to details, Hayatabad SHO Mira Jan was shot dead by militants when he reached Amjadabad Katcha Garhi area to foil a militant attack at NATO containers.
The militants opened indiscriminate firing on the SHO’s vehicle, killing him on the spot. His driver, bodyguard and two passers by including a child sustained injuries.
A police officer said two drivers of the NATO containers were also injured in the attack. The assailants succeeded in fleeing.
Earlier, Malik Hasham Khan, a leading tribal elder from Janikhel Wazir from was targeted by militants with an improvised explosives devise (IED). Khan along with his son and a nephew were killed on the spot while his vehicle was completely destroyed.
Khan was a pro-government tribal elder and had formed a peace militia. He had been part of several rounds of mediation and peace agreements between the government and the Taliban.
A peace and human rights activist, Zar Ali Khan Musazai, told Pakistan Today that it seemed police officials were being forced to abandon their assignments and vacate Peshawar and other main cities and towns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said unlike previous rulers, the PML-N government was playing the role of a silent spectator. Musazai said human rights activists and peace workers from all over the country as well as the world must realise their responsibilities at this crucial stage otherwise the entire country could see itself falling into an anarchy-like situation.
