SWAT: Sardar Soran Singh, special assistant to chief minister KP on minorities’ affairs and an MPA, was gunned down in a targeted attack near Pir Baba in Buner district on Friday.

“Gunmen riding on two motorbikes came in front of the car and started indiscriminate firing which killed the minister on the spot,” Khalid Hamadani, district police chief told AFP.

He was shifted to the hospital immediately after the incident, where he succumbed to his wounds.

"Soran Singh was shot in the head and eye," Pir Baba SHO Mir Ghazab confirmed.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the assassination.

Soran Singh belonged to the Sikh community and joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2011 after being associated with Jamaat-i-Islami. He held one of several seats reserved for religious minorities in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly.

Three years ago, another PTI provincial lawmaker Fareed Khan was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Hangu.

Opinion

Editorial

Battling hate
Updated 15 Mar, 2026

Battling hate

In the current scenario, geopolitical conflict, racial prejudice and religious bigotry all contribute to the threats Muslims face.
TB drugs shortage
15 Mar, 2026

TB drugs shortage

‘CRIMINAL negligence’ is the phrase that jumps to mind when one considers the disturbing consequences of the...
Chinese diplomacy
Updated 14 Mar, 2026

Chinese diplomacy

THERE are signs that China is taking a more active role in trying to resolve the issue of cross-border terrorism...
Fragile gains at risk
14 Mar, 2026

Fragile gains at risk

PAKISTAN is confronting an external shock stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran that few of the other affected...
Kidney disease
14 Mar, 2026

Kidney disease

ON World Kidney Day this past Thursday, the Pakistan Medical Association raised the alarm on Pakistan’s...
Delicate balance
Updated 13 Mar, 2026

Delicate balance

PAKISTAN has to maintain a delicate balance where the geopolitics of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran are...