PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen shot dead two persons, including an activist of the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, in separate incidents here on Wednesday.

In Yakatoot, gunmen shot dead an ASWJ activist identified as Mohammad Zahid outside his residence in Pir Colony area in targeted killing, said local police officials, adding that the attackers escaped on a motorcycle. They said that Zahid was taken to Lady Reading hospital in critical condition, but he could not survive there.

The officials, however, said that police recorded statements of his relatives and the family who said that they had no enmity with anyone. A case was, however, registered against unidentified attackers.

Another young man was killed in Mathra area on the outskirts of the provincial capital. An official of local police said that the man was unidentified and had been shifted to local mortuary for autopsy.

Meanwhile, the police during the ongoing search and strike operation in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday and Wednesday arrested 425 suspected persons, including 38 Afghans, and recovered weapons from them.

A police spokesman said that of the arrested persons, 314 were held during snap checking at various check points. He said that the Afghan nationals were arrested for illegal stay in Pakistan and cases were registered against them under 14 Foreigners’ Act.

The spokesman said that during the operation, 471 houses and 225 hotels were also checked and 15 cases were registered against the violators of the government issued guidelines.

Published in Dawn March 5th , 2015

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