May 21, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1429

LANDI KOTAL, May 20: Militant group Lashkar-i-Islam publicly executed an elder belonging to a rival group in Bara tehsil on Tuesday.

Maulana Mastamin had been kidnapped on Dec 20. Initially, the Lashkar denied it had kidnapped the maulana.

The execution was watched by hundreds of people in Gogrina village of Bazaar-Zakhakhel area near Tirah valley.

A squad of Lashkar-i-Islam gunned the maulana down after the ‘death sentence’ was announced by the Lashkar’s Shura based in Gogrina.

The maulana was blindfolded with his hands and feet tied with ropes.

Maulana Mastamin was associated with several peace committees formed in Bara on different occasions.

Sources said the self-proclaimed amir of Lashkar-i-Islam Mangal Bagh was in Gogrina at the time of the execution.

The maulana had been receiving death threats for a long time and Mangal Bagh had been demanding his surrender.

A spokesman for Lashkar-i-Islam alleged that Maulana Mastamin was an agent of the United States and involved in the killing of scores of people during clashes with Ansaarul Islam in Tirah.

Maulana Mastamin’s father Mohammad Amin criticised the local political administration for having failed to protect his son.