TIMERGARA: Unidentified gunmen in military uniform stormed the Hujra (guesthouse) of Qaumi Watan Party MPA and former provincial minister Bakht Baidar Khan on Tuesday night, the first day of Eidul Fitr, and killed his brother Mohammad Ishaq along with five others, including his security guard. One guest was also injured in the attack.

One of the MPA’s brothers while quoting the injured guest, Nizar Khan, told Dawn that the armed assailants dressed in military uniform sneaked into the Hujra (guesthouse) and asked the police guard on duty to go inside a room of the Hujra where Mr Ishaq, the younger brother of Bakht Baidar, was sitting with six other guests.

The attackers asked them to lay down with their faces to the ground and then opened indiscriminate firing, killing six persons on the spot while one sustained bullet injuries.

The dead included Mr Ishaq, brother of Bakht Baidar, his security guard Zahid Khan, domestic servant Qari Kifayatullah, two brothers of QWP Adenzai president – Javid Khan and Aziz Khan – and their nephew advocate Mustaqim Khan.

Gunmen in military uniform storm Bakht Baidar’s Hujra on Eid day

Sources said that the assailants easily escaped after the attack. They said that the attackers seemed to be highly trained who completed the operation within one and a half minutes.

The bodies were taken to the tehsil headquarters hospital, Chakdara, while the injured man was taken by security forces for treatment at an unknown place.

JUI-F provincial chief Maulana Gul Naseeb Khan led the collective funeral of the six victims of the attack at Gulabad Adenzai, which was attended by thousands of people from across the district. The Adenzai people mourned the deaths on the Eid day.

MPA Bakht Baidar, who was in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, told Dawn on his return that the incident was an act of terrorism. He said that his Hujra was targeted because he had been leading the Adenzai Qaumi Jirga, which was struggling for restoration of peace. About the investigation, he said that he was not aware of any development at this stage. “This act of terrorism cannot discourage me and I would fight for the cause of peace,” Mr Baidar said, adding that his family had no enmity with anyone.

District police officer, Lower Dir, Ghulam Habib told mediapersons on Thursday that six persons had been taken into custody so far and they were being interrogated. He said that all efforts would be made to reach the perpetrators of the attack.

Mr Ishaq, the MPA’s brother, had contested elections on the national and provincial assemblies’ seats in the past and remained union council nazim twice. He left behind a widow, two daughters and a son to mourn his death.

CONDOLENCES: QWP chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq, political adviser to chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fazal Elahi and other leaders of political parties visited Bakht Baidar’s residence and condoled the sad demise of his brother.

On this occasion, Sirajul Haq demanded of the government and authorities concerned to immediately investigate the matter and arrest the killers. He said that it was a test case for the law enforcement agencies. He said that the incident was an act of terrorism and should be condemned publicly. “I express my heartfelt sympathies with the families of the victims,” he said.

Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan also condemned the attack and killing of the MPA’s brother and five other persons.

In a condolence message sent to Bakht Baidar, the governor expressed solidarity with the bereaved family and hoped that the elements involved in the heinous crime would be brought to justice.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2014