Police shot and killed a vendor they suspected of being a militant in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mardan district on Thursday, police said.

The man, identified as Wolas Khan, had been selling clothes on his bicycle in the area for the past 15 years. He had 12 children.

DSP Shah Mumtaz Khan said the man had failed to stop at a checkpoint outside a courthouse in Mardan.

He said the police first rammed a vehicle into the bicycle when the vendor didn't listen to warning shouts, then shot him as he tried to run away.

The man, around 45 years old, was injured by the firing and later died in a local hospital. No explosives or weapons were found on the deceased, the DSP said.

District Police Officer (DPO) Mian Saeed said the incident happened in a sensitive area where police had installed barriers.

He said the road on which the man was shot had been designated a one-way street.

The DPO said police had shot at the man also because he had a "suspect" appearance — "long hair and a long beard".

“I don't understand why the vendor would keep going (even though) we were giving him loud warnings,” said another officer, Zeb Bakhtiar, who was at the checkpoint.

Pakistani police have been on high alert after a recent string of militant attacks that have killed more than 125 people, the latest of them inside a court building in KP's Charsadda.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
Updated 06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

Restored faith in the police is unachievable without political commitment and interprovincial support.
Appointment rules
Updated 06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

If the judiciary had the power to self-regulate, it ought to have exercised it instead of involving the legislature.
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....