HARIPUR: The district nazim of Haripur was attacked and injured by assailants, who shot at his Parado jeep on Sirikot Road some 25km from here on Saturday evening.

He was taken to Islamabad for tertiary care, and doctors and police officials told Dawn that his condition was stable.

Police officials quoted Adil Islam, the injured political leader, as saying that he was on his way to Ghazi tehsil, his hometown, when assailants attacked his vehicle in Shanaee village, some 12km from Ghazi, at around 8:30pm. He told police that the assailants opened fire at his vehicle with AK-47 assault rifles.

Doctors and policemen in Ghazi village said that over half a dozen bullets had pierced the jeep and one of them had hit Mr Islam in the right arm.

The PTI district nazim’s guard, who was accompanying him at that time, returned fire but couldn’t do much because of the darkness. The injured nazim was removed to the Ghazi Tehsil Headquarter Hospital, from where he was referred to the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

According to police, they have not yet registered an FIR, but several police contingents have launched a search operation for the arrest of the attackers.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2017