MALAKAND: Following murder of a civil society activist in Sakhakot area here on Monday evening, the government transferred the deputy commissioner of Malakand and the Dargai assistant commissioner on Tuesday and sent them to the establishment department.

Mohammad Zada Agrawal was shot dead by two unidentified motorcyclists near his house in the College Colony, Sakhkot on Monday evening.

A notification issued here said that deputy commissioner Altaf Ahmed Sheikh and Dargai assistant commissioner Fawad Khattak had been transferred and directed to report to the establishment department.

The murder of the activist, who was waging a struggle through social media against drug peddlers in the district, was widely condemned. Thousands of people turned to social media to demand justice for Mr Agrawal.

Incident sparks protests in Sakhakot and Peshawar; JIT formed for investigation

A statement issued from the Malakand deputy commissioner’s office said the police had retrieved the footage from a CCTV camera installed at a nearby school, where the murder took place, which showed that when Mr Agrawal came out of a car two people riding a motorcycle emerged from Sakhakot Bazaar side and opened fire on him.

Mr Agrawal was critically wounded in the attack and later died of injuries at a hospital.

The statement said a joint investigation team had been formed to investigate the murder.

Sources told Dawn that the police had arrested Mr Agrawal’s friend, in whose car he was sitting just before the murder.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people placed the slain activist’s body on the main road to protest the murder. The road remained blocked for more than six hours. The protesters were demanding arrests of the killers and action against district administration officials.

The protesters finally agreed to bury the slain after two ruling PTI lawmakers conveyed to them that the chief minister had transferred the Malakand deputy commissioner and the Dargai assistant commissioner.

Mr Agrawal in his social media posts and during an open kutcheri had accused the district administration officials of having links with drug mafia and other criminals.

The social activist had an FIR registered against him along with others in January this year by the medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital, Dargai, for gathering a crowd on the hospital’s premises for a protest.

Meanwhile, Provincial Management Service Association (PMSA) in a statement issued in Peshawar criticised the transfer of the Malakand deputy commissioner and the Dargai assistant commissioner.

The association said if the two officers were found guilty after the due process they could be dealt with as per the prescribed rules accordingly.

It demanded that the establishment department should be directed to withdraw the transfer orders of DC Malakand and AC Dargai and constitute an inquiry.

In a separate development, students and civil society activists held protest demonstrations in Peshawar against the murder of the activist, and demanded early arrest of his killers.

Activists of Pakhtun Students Federation, Peshawar Civil Society and Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network held separate demonstrations outside the press club. They condemned the murder of young social worker and described it worst kind of terrorism.

The activists urged the provincial government to ensure protection to those pinpointing social evils in their respective areas.

They said Mr Agrawal had pinpointed drug peddling in the region during an open kutcheri and claimed that influential people were involved in the heinous crime.

They said only transferring district level officials in the case won’t resolve the matter, and asked the government to ensure early arrest of the killers.

Later, the protesters walked from the press club to the provincial assembly building, shouting slogans against the murder.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2021