LAKKI MARWAT: Grief struck the Esakkhel village of Lakki Marwat district on Saturday as the victims of the mosque firing were laid to rest, and the police booked four people for the attack.

Inayatur Rehman and Hamid Nawaz were killed when armed men opened fire on worshipers during Friday prayers in the rural locality on Friday.

Eleven villagers, including two minors, had sustained injuries in the attack.

The bodies were shifted to the village after conducting postmortem in the Government City Hospital. A large number of people attended the funeral prayers.

A local resident said moving scenes were witnessed on the occasion. He said people from different parts of the district came to the village to offer condolences and sympathies with the bereaved families.

A police official said they had registered a case against Hasan Khan, Javed Khan, Shafiq Khan and Naseer Khan for the mosque firing attack on the complaint of Habibullah Khan, a brother of the deceased, Inayatur Rehman.

The complainant said Shafiq and Javed were his cousins, and had been absconding in a murder case.

“Both the attackers wanted us to play a role in settling their enmity with rivals,” he maintained, saying their refusal to mediate in the dispute led to the firing attack.

Meanwhile, political and social circles condemned the incident as inhuman and barbaric.

Lakki Marwat tehsil council chairman Shafqatullah Khan Khoidadkhel inquired after the wounded men at the hospital and directed the management to ensure provision of better healthcare to them.

Awami National Party district chapter president Malik Ali Sarwar also denounced the attack and expressed solidarity with the families of the deceased and the injured.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2022