PESHAWAR: The district president of PML-N youth wing, Haji Sardar Khan Mohmand, was shot dead by unidentified armed men when he was going to his workplace in Khan Mast Colony here on Wednesday.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Taliban claimed responsibility for targeting the PML-N leader.

An official of Yakatoot police station said that the deceased was dealing in property business. After the attack, he was shifted to Lady Reading Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds, he added.

“We have registered a case against unidentified motorcyclists and investigating it,” the official said and added that the victim’s family avoided sharing information with police and didn’t nominate anyone in the case.

It is pertinent to mention here that alleged extortionists targeted the residence of the deceased in Shad Bagh Colony with an explosive device two weeks ago. The main gate and a wall of his house were damaged in the attack.

Sources said that the PML-N leader was receiving threats from unidentified extortionists but he didn’t share the information with police. The deceased belonged to Mohmand Agency. The extortionists also belonged to the same tribal area, they added.

However, in his message, emailed to journalists, TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani said that the leaguer was targeted by their special squad. He said that PML-N was on the hit list of TTP and murder of Sardar Mohmand was just a beginning.

Condemning the murder of Sardar Mohamand, PML-N leaders including Eng Amir Muqam, Pir Sabir Shah, Rahmat Salam Khattak and Nasir Khan Musazai said that terrorists couldn’t pressurise the party leadership.

In a joint statement, they said that the PML-N government was fully determined to eradicate terrorism and terrorists. The government would continue its struggle against the menace to restore sustainable peace in the country, they added.

“We are ready to offer all kinds of sacrifice for the welfare of the people and development of the country but would not accept any pressure,” they said.

ARRESTS: Police claimed to have arrested 500 suspected persons during search operations in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A police spokesman said that the search and strike operations were conducted under the National Action Plan to uproot terrorism in the province. He said that during the operation, 547 houses and 248 hotels were checked and nine cases were registered against the owners for not sharing information about their tenants. Besides, the spokesperson said, some 37 Afghan nationals were also rounded for staying there without having legal documents.

Published in Dawn March 19th , 2015

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