LOWER DIR: Armed men abducted and killed a former forest watchman in Maidan area of Lower Dir district on Thursday morning, police and locals said.
They said that three to four unidentified men kidnapped Faizur Rehman, a resident of Lalu village, at around 6:40am. His body was later found in the nearby Lalu stream. Police officials reached the spot soon after the incident and launched an investigation.
An official said that banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the murder.
In a separate incident, three children drowned in the Panjkora River in Shalfalm Malikabad on Thursday, officials said.
The victims were identified as Sana, 10, Maria, 6, and Ajira, 8. Rescue 1122 teams managed to pull two of the girls alive and provided them first aid, but one girl remained missing.
According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson, divers equipped with modern tools, assisted by locals, continued a search operation to recover the missing child.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen shot dead the son of a local elder in Munda late on Tuesday night and escaped, police and locals said.
Following funeral prayers, residents of the area staged a protest at Munda Chowk, demanding immediate arrest of the killers. Police assured the protesters of full cooperation and pledged to bring the culprits to justice.
Published in Dawn, August 22th, 2025
