March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

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GILGIT, March 19: The Northern Areas adviser for education, revenue and finance and secretary-general of PML-N Saifur Rahman Khan was shot dead on Wednesday in Gilgit allegedly by one of his cousins, police sources said.

The accused reportedly sprayed at least five bullets into his body with the help of a 30-bore pistol when Mr Khan came out of his home around 12.35pm for his office. He was rushed to DHQ hospital Gilgit in critical condition where the doctors pronounced him dead.

He would be buried in his ancestral graveyard in Kashrot on Thursday. Mr Khan, 36, leaves two sons and a widow to mourn his death.

The news created panic in the city and shops were closed in Kashrot area. Police and the FC personnel have been deployed in the locality to avoid any untoward incident.

The police arrested Imtiaz on the spot. The sources close to the slain adviser family said that the accused had been threatening Mr Khan for some days but nobody took it seriously.

The late Khan was elected to the NALC in 1999. He was made adviser of forests, fisheries and food in 2001. In 2002 he was made adviser for education, revenue and finance.

Butcher killed: Police said that a butcher, Faqeer, 45, was also shot dead on Tuesday at Guro allegedly over an enmity.