PESHAWAR: A widow has demanded of the provincial government to take action against former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly speaker Khushdil Khan and his supporters for allegedly setting her house on fire to occupy her land illegally.

Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, Sherin Bibi, widow of Malang Jan of Badbher, said the former speaker wanted her to sell him her house and the adjacent land, but on her refusal his men torched the one-storey building.

“The armed men of Khushdil beat us mercilessly,” the elderly woman said, showing marks of injuries on their bodies to the media.

Accompanied by her family members, the woman alleged the attackers also took away jewellery and other valuable household items before setting the house on fire.

She appealed to provincial government to probe the case and award punishment to the guilty.

Abdul Wahid, a relative of the woman, said all the male members of his family were abroad and that they had nothing to with anyone in the area. He said the former speaker, who belongs to ANP, was bent upon snatching his family’s land because the woman (owner) had refused to sell it to him.

“We have approached ANP provincial president Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and police officers but they did not listen to us. PTI chairman Imran should help us get justice,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2016