November 26, 2008	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 27, 1429

KOHAT, Nov 25: Six men, a woman and a child were killed in Kohat and Hangu districts in incidents of sectarian violence on Tuesday.

Officials said a family going to Kohat from Kachai area in a pick-up was attacked by a group of gunmen.

Syed Mehdi Hassan, Syed Ibne Raza, his wife Shahe Jehan and nine-year-old Syed Wajid Hassan were killed in the attack.

Syed Mir Hassan and a child, Bibi Sakina, were injured and taken to the divisional headquarters hospital in Kohat.

Reacting to the killings, gunmen attacked a pick-up in Raisan bazaar area of Hangu, killing four people and injuring eight others.

The deceased were identified as Wilayat, Zafar Ali, Jabir Ali, and Hayat Khan.

The eight injured are: Waseem, Mohammad Nawaz, Abdul Qayyum, Nasir Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Kabil Khan, Wahid and Fahad Rehman, all from Orakzai Agency.

They were admitted to the Hangu civil hospital.

After the incident, the local administration closed the Kohat-Hangu road for an indefinite period.

Fearing an outbreak of sectarian violence, bazaars in various areas of Kohat and Hangu districts were closed.

The Hangu DCO has called an emergency meeting of elders from both sects and appealed to them to stay calm and foil the designs of the enemies of the country who were trying to fan sectarian violence.

Police have taken stringent security measures in the region to maintain peace.

A police official blamed foreign elements for the killing and said they were trying to incite sectarian hatred.

Aid worker kidnapped

Officials say gunmen have kidnapped a Pakistani working on a US-funded aid project in the country’s volatile northwest, according to AP.

Police said the attackers seized the man from a convoy of relief vehicles in the Dir region on Monday. Other aid workers escaped after villagers fired on the attackers.

The UN’s World Food Program said the victim was distributing wheat and cooking oil on its behalf.

WFP spokesman Amjad Jamal said the food was paid for by the US government.

He said it was unclear if Taliban militants were be-hind the kidnapping and that WFP had received no demands.