BAJAUR: The son of a local JUI-F slain leader was killed and his friend was injured when unknown assailants opened fire on them in a bazaar here on Tuesday, police and local residents said.

They said the incident occurred in Inayat Kallay Bazaar. They said the victim identified as Maz Khan, 25, along with his companion, Hanifullah was shopping in the market when the assailants opened fire on them with automatic rifles.

A police official, who visited the crime scene to collect evidence, told Dawn that both Maz Khan and Hanifullah were critically injured in the firing.

He said Maz died while being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar.

The official said a police team reached the site of the shooting, but the attackers had already managed to escape.

The official said a search was underway to trace the attackers. The motive behind the killing couldn’t be ascertained.

The body of Maz Khan, the elder son of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader Mufti Bashir Ahmad, who was also shot dead by unidentified motorcyclists in his native Mamond tehsil on April 26 last year, was later taken to his native Sewai village for burial.

Mufti Bashir was shot dead on the last day of Ramazan last year.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2023