September 1, 2003	Monday	Rajab 3, 1424

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PESHAWAR, Aug 31: A former Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Major Mast Gul, on Sunday survived an attempt on his life after his car was ambushed by a group of unidentified armed men near his residence at the Khwaja Town on Pajaggi Road here.

Haroon Khan, 37, also known by his nom de guerre Mast Gul, was going towards his home along with his personal security guards, when 10 unknown armed men had opened indiscriminate fire on his car, brother of the former Hizb commander, Ismail Khan, told Dawn at Faqirabad police station.

He said that Mast Gul’s security guards had retaliated the fire, injuring one of the attackers. Mast Gul, he added, sustained facial injuries by the spray of shards of his car’s window.

Law enforcers had arrested the injured attacker but intelligence officials had later shifted him to some unknown location, police officials said.

They said that Mast Gul was shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital, adding that he had also been shifted to unspecified location by the intelligence agency’s personnel.

Accusing the Indian intelligence agency of the attempt on life of Mast Gul, Ismail Khan said: “The Research Analysis Wing is behind the attempt on the life of Mast Gul.”

He also blamed former Afghan corps commander of Jalalabad Haji Zaman and Afghan trade commissioner Haji Aman of being involved in the murder attempt, adding that Mast Gul had been receiving death threats for quite some time.

Police officials said that armed men had tried to escape from the scene of the crime after firing upon the former Hizb commander and one of their cars (RIZ-970) had overturned while taking a sharp turn in the Khwaja Town. The accused riding in that car had boarded another vehicle and escaped.

The police had barred this correspondent from speaking with Mast Gul at the police station, where he had been brought to register an FIR.

Major Mast Gul nominated three Afghan brothers in the FIR, including Haji Zaman, Haji Aman and Mohammad Ameer.

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