HARIPUR, Feb 23: Former provincial minister and MPA-elect from PF-51, Haripur-III, Akhtar Nawaz Khan has denied involvement in the killing of the uncle of Tehsil Nazim Iftikhar Ahmed Khan, saying that he would declare this on an oath before a Qaumi Jirga of Khalabat Township.

This he claimed at a crowded press conference at his hujra of Khalabat Township here on Saturday evening. He was accompanied by a large number of his supporters.

MPA-elect Akhtar Nawaz Khan, who was minister for transport and fisheries in the cabinet of Akram Khan Durrani, clarified that on Wednesday February 20, he was at his hujra receiving the supporters who had been coming from different areas to felicitate him on his victory, when he saw his nephew Sami Ullah Khan running armed with Kalashnikov rifle.

“I inquired him as to why was he carrying the rifle, he told that some people from Zulfiqar group opened fire at their procession and left two of his friends injured,” he said adding that his emotionally charged nephew retaliated the fire which resulted in injuring eight people, while one of them Haji Anwar, who was also his close relative was shot dead. He brushed aside the allegation that his elderly father, brothers, uncle or he was involved in the firing.

Quoting his nephew, Akhtar Nawaz said that Zulfiqar who lost to him with a big margin was frustrated and had not been allowing the procession of his supporters to pass from their hujra and on the evening of the incident, they repeated the same practice and fired shots at the procession injuring two of his supporters.

He said that the police had not registered their case and his injured supporters were later admitted at the Rural Health Centre Kotnajibullah for treatment of bullet wounds.

Alleging Tehsil Nazim Iftikhar Ahmed Khan and his brother Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan for creating unrest in the area and using abusive language against him, the former provincial minister offered to be ‘shot at publicly if the complainants prove the charges against him’ on oath before the Khalabat Township based Qaumi Jirga.