PESHAWAR: Unknown assailants on Saturday shot dead a resident of Bara tehsil of Khyber tribal district in an incident police described as an act of targeted killing.

The victim was identified as Malik Mir Alam, who was targeted by unknown assailants near the Ahini Khwar at around 9am.

The police said that Mr Alam was on his way to Bara from Peshawar, adding that he died on the spot.

The police said that they also conducted a search operation in the area following the incident. Meanwhile, there were conflicting reports regarding Mr Alam, as initially he was described as a leader of local peace committee in Bara, but the local people in Khyber district said that there was no such committee in Bara.

However, a senior police official told this scribe that Mr Alam was linked to peace committees and his targeted killing was linked to militancy. In a statement issued here, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan condemned Mr Alam’s murder and asked the police to arrest his killers.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2019