PESHAWAR
Militants on Sunday shot dead an Awami National Party (ANP) leader in Buner whereas house of another leader was blown up and his three relatives were abducted from outskirts of Peshawar.
As per details, Afzal Khan was picked up by militants when he was going to his marble factory from home at Jawar town in from Buner District. His relatives said that two militants forced him to stop. In the meantime, two other militants appeared and took him to mountainous region called Elum.
They also said that militants also forced a passerby to walk along with Afzal Khan. They later opened fire on Afzal Khan and the passerby was told to inform Afzal’s relatives. Relatives and police personnel rushed to the scene and shifted the body to a hospital.
Separately, dozens of militants attacked the house and compound of Mian Mushtaq in Masho area in the outskirts of Peshawar. Mushtaq, his driver and an aide were killed by militants on January 12. The banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the killings.
Militants blew up both the compound and house. They later abducted three people.
According to police, the abducted persons were identified as Fahad, Shabir and Shakil.
ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain held the government responsible. “The government is friendly towards Taliban. Therefore it is responsible for violence and terrorism across the country,” he told Pakistan Today.
Showing concern over Afzal Khan’s assassination and blowing up of Mushtaq’s residence, Hussain said, “We have made restricted Taliban with dislodging their network in almost of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some of the adjoining tribal agencies. But Taliban went for regrouping after empowering of its friendly governments. He said that on such grounds, they couldn’t expect anything from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders.”
