PESHAWAR, Aug 12: The provincial secretary-general of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Aslam Farooqui, was shot dead here on Sunday.

Mr Farooqui was shot by two men on a motorcycle near his home in Shah Naqash Bandi locality near Kohati Chowk when he was returning from a market. He was hit by bullets and was taken to the Lady Reading Hospital, where he died.

Alam Zeb, brother of the deceased leader, caught hold of the attacker and handed him over to police.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Operations, Mohammad Tahir Khan, said one man had been arrested in connection with the murder and d more arrests were expected. A police official said one Shoaib Hussain of Parachinar, who belonged to a paramilitary force, had been arrested. He said the suspect had stayed in a local hotel with his alleged accomplice.

Mr Farooqui’s relatives told reporters that they had asked police several times to provide him security because his life was in danger.

After the incident, scores of people gathered at the spot and chanted slogans against a sect holding it responsible for the murder. They threatened to take revenge of the murder.

The deceased was charged in various cases of sectarian attacks, including the Kohati firing case of 1992.

He was buried in his ancestral graveyard in Akhunabad locality.