KOHAT: A prominent religious leader was shot dead in a targeted killing incident in Garhi Banoorian here on Friday evening, police said.

They said that the victim, Sher Mohammad Turi, was the caretaker of the Qaumi Imambargah and a member of peace jirga.

Following the killing, tension gripped the Kohat city, with hundreds of people placing the victim’s body in Zargaran bazaar square and demanding arrest of the killers.

They assailed the provincial government for failing to protect the lives and properties of people. They said the killing of Mr Turi dealt a blow to the efforts to restore peace in the region.

They warned that if the killers were not arrested forthwith they would devise a future strategy after consulting the Qaumi Wahdat Council.

Later, the victim was laid to rest in Sawa Lakh graveyard amid presence of a large number of mourners from both the sects.

A police spokesman said that Mr Turi was shot dead near his house. He said that FIR of the incident filed with the city police named the killers Fayyaz Haideri, resident of Mohallah Sikandar Shaheed, Shakeel Sidiqui and an unidentified man.

He said the police began search for arrest of the accused.

The spokesman said Fayyaz Haideri was on the run after sectarian riots in Kohat on November 18, 2013. He said that security in the district had been heightened following the targeted killing.