BAJAUR: A large number of people on Saturday attended the funeral prayers of the two political activists, who were killed in an attack in Yousafabad area of Khar tehsil on Friday.

The funeral prayers of Malik Shah Khalid, 32, a local Awami National Party leader, and his cousin, Malik Samiullah, 40, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Salarzai tehsil president, were held in their native Mata Shah area of Salarzai.

People from different walks of life, including tribal elders, political and social activists, attended the funeral.

Later, both the deceased were laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard.

Addressing the participants of the funeral, ANP and PTI leaders condemned the killings and called upon the police to arrest the attackers without delay. They slammed the police for not fulfilling their responsibility to protect the lives of people.

The speakers pointed out that the place where the attack took place was close to a police post and several personnel were present there at the time of shooting. However, they alleged that no police official tried to catch hold of the assailants, who they said fled the scene without any hindrance.

Meanwhile, the local leadership of ANP and PTI announced three-day mourning over the killings, suspending all activities.

Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan expressed grief over the killing of the ANP and PTI activists in an ambush.

In a statement issued from Peshawar late on Friday evening, he termed the killings a great loss for the district.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2022