DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Three people were gunned down in targeted killing incidents within a span of two hours in Parova tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan district on Wednesday.

According to officials, the first incident occurred around 9am when unidentified gunmen shot dead Baqir Hussain in Cowdwan area.

The second incident occurred in Mahro Adda area, where a man identified as Kalu, son of Ghulam Haider, was shot dead by unidentified assailants.

Similarly, unidentified motorcyclists gunned down Hifazatullah in Parova area. The attackers escaped the scene after the incident.

The targeted killings sparked fear and anger in the area and the locals placed the bodies on the Indus Highway to protest against the murders.

The highway remained blocked to vehicular traffic during the course of the protest. Long lines of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Sindh. A heavy contingent of police reached the area soon after the road blockade and held negotiations with the protesters.

The police officers assured the protesters that the attackers involved in the killings would be arrested soon.

The talks between the police and the protesters continued till filing of this report on Wednesday evening.

The police enhanced security in the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2018