MARDAN, May 28: Two young women and two minor children were shot dead while another child and a man were seriously injured in Rustam village, 29 kilometres from here, on Thursday night.

The motive behind the killings was stated to be a dispute over the marriage of the assailant's sister to a man from Punjab. The marriage was facilitated by one Hidayat Begum, a resident of the Rustam village.

Police sources said that the accused identified as Anwarzeb broke intothe house of Hidayat Begum late in the night and opened fire on the inmates, killing two young women and the children. Another child and a man suffered bullet injuries.

The victims were identified as Hidayat Begum's daughters Shakila and Shahnaz, and grandsons Mohammad Jawad and Waqas. The injured man is Hidayat Begum's son Shah Nawaz, while the name of the injured child could not be ascertained. They were taken to the DHQ hospital where Shah Nawaz was stated to be in a critical condition.

The residents of Rustam village said that Hidayat Begum facilitated the "marriage" of the teenage girl to a resident of Punjab, some time back. When the matter came to the knowledge of Anwarzeb, he demanded his sister back.

When Hidayat Begum failed to get the girl back Anwarzeb entered her house and carried out the attack. People of the area and police sources told this reporter that Hidayat Begum was involved in a number of similar cases of selling young girls in the Punjab. It was also learnt that she had been jailed in Punjab allegedly for selling women.