PESHAWAR: Unidentified persons shot dead a prayer leader and a police constable in different areas of Peshawar on Wednesday.

Sources said that a prayer leader identified as Rohullah, an Afghan national, was shot dead by unidentified armed persons when he was on way to mosque in Laja Garhi village.

An official of Mathra police station, quoting the statement of Amina Bibi, the widow of the prayer leader, said that the family had been living in the village for many years but it had no enmity.

The body was handed over to the heirs after postmortem at a local mortuary, the official said.

In another incident, a policeman identified as Ibne Hassan was killed by unidentified gunmen in Tauheedabad area.

An official of Yakatoot police station told Dawn that the constable was on way from home to the police post when unidentified motorcyclists opened firing on him.The constable, he said, was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital in critical condition where he succumbed to his injuries.

He said that relatives of the deceased did not nominate anyone in the FIR as they had no enmity.

Meanwhile, a police spokesman claimed that five Afghan nationals, living in Peshawar illegally, were arrested and weapons were recovered from their possession.

He said that a Kalashnikov and a Kalakov were recovered from their possession. The accused, he said, were charged under 14 Foreign Act and would be produced before court on Thursday.

Meanwhile, provincial government has issued fresh directives to all officials of police and security forces to make foolproof security arrangements to avert any possible sabotage act in their jurisdictions.

Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Syed Akhtar Ali Shah on Wednesday directed the quarters concerned to review security arrangements and ensure installation of close circuit television camera on the premises of courts.