PESHAWAR, May 1: Paternal uncle of Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani was shot dead near his village in Bannu on Monday. Mir Mohammad Khan, uncle of the chief minister, was ambushed when he was returning in his vehicle from Do Manza village to Surani, the ancestral village of Mr Durrani, official sources told Dawn on telephone.

Mr Khan died on the spot, while his driver, Sabir Ali, and personal guard, Fida Hussain, suffered bullet injuries. The attackers were said to be five.

The sources said that the guard also responded and killed one of the attackers and injured another, police official Sultan Niaz said. But another official said that the two were injured and the attackers took them away in their vehicle.

Sabir Ali and Fida Hussain were rushed to the Bannu District Headquarters Hospital where their condition was stable, police officials said.

The officials of Town police station said that the attackers had long hair and had appearances like tribesmen of North Waziristan Agency.

They said that police had gathered sufficient evidence to track down the killers.

Mir Mohammad Khan had rivalry with some people of the area, a senior official said on condition of anonymity and added: “The attackers may be hired assassins.”