BAJAUR: A cleric and his brother were killed after unknown assailants attacked their car in Inayat Kallay area in Bajaur tribal district on Thursday, the police and local residents said.

They said the incident occurred on Inayat Kallay-Damadola Road. They said Maulana Noor Mohammad along with his younger brother and a relative was coming to Inayat Kallay Bazaar from his native Chinagai area of Mamond tehsil when unknown motorcyclists opened fire at their car with automatic rifles, leaving them seriously injured. They were immediately shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Khar, said the area people.

However, according to the police and hospital sources, Maulana Noor, 50, and his brother, Zubir Khan, 37, later succumbed to their injuries. A doctor at the hospital told Dawn that condition of the injured, Qari Siraj, was out of danger. Soon after the incident, police and shopkeepers reached the spot, but the attackers had already fled, said a police official.

The motive behind the incident couldn’t be ascertained till filing of this report on Thursday evening.

The local residents said Maulana Noor and his brother were peaceful citizens and had no enmity with anyone in the area.

District police officer Nazeer Khan said a case had been registered against the unidentified attackers and investigation begun.

Meanwhile, a cleric died and three women were injured when a vehicle plunged into a ditch in Khar tehsil on Thursday evening.

In a statement, Rescue 1122 said the accident occurred on Khar- Barang Road in Alizai Shanki area when a passenger vehicle plunged into a ditch after its brakes failed.

The deceased was identified as Maulana Rasool Khan.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd, 2023