GILGIT, Jan 16: In separate incidents of violence here on Sunday, an employee of the public works department was shot dead while vehicle of a local PML-N leader was ambushed injuring him and his driver seriously.

“Unidentified assailants opened indiscriminate fire on the vehicle of local Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Jaffarullah Khan near the High School Amphary Gilgit. As a result, the PML-N leader and his driver, Nadeem, were injured,” a police official told Dawn .

He said Jaffarullah received four bullets and his driver two and both were shifted to the DHQ Hospital, where doctors operated upon them. Later, they were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital, where doctors declared them out of danger.

The attack on PML-N leader created panic in the area and traders pulled down shutters and people rushed to their houses fearing more violence.

In the other incident, an employee of public works department, who also ran a shop in Gilgit city, was fired upon by unidentified men while he was closing his shop. He was seriously injured and shifted to the DHQ Hospital, where he succumbed to injuries. The police have registered cases and are investigating.

Meanwhile, an activist of Tablighi Jamaat was also targeted by unknown men in a Gilgit market but he narrowly escaped the attack. Hafiz-ur-Rehman, chief organiser and former president of PML-N Gilgit-Baltistan chapter, termed the attack on Jaffarullah as pre-planned to keep the party away from the masses. He said that the PML-N didn't believe in politics of violence and vowed to defeat such elements.

He appealed to workers to remain peaceful and thwart conspiracies of terrorists and anti-social elements.

Meanwhile, police adopted elaborated security measures on the occasion of the 6th death anniversary of religious leader Aga Ziauddin, who was assassinated in January 2005. The killing of Aga Ziauddin had triggered sectarian violence in the sensitive town of Gilgit in which about 20 people had been killed.