Peshawar police. – File Photo

PESHAWAR: A Chinese woman was shot dead with a male companion on Tuesday in Peshawar, which borders the tribal belt stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants, police said.

They were killed by gunmen on motorbikes while walking in the Kohati bazaar in the historic centre of the northwestern city, but the motive of the shooting was not immediately clear, police official Tahir Ayub told AFP.

“Those who were killed are one man carrying a Pakistani ID card and one woman carrying a Chinese passport,” Ayub told AFP.

They were walking in the Kohati Bazaar when gunmen on motorbikes shot them and fled, he said.

Police found a Chinese passport with a Pakistani tourist visa inside, a laptop, digital camera and biscuits in the woman's bag, Ayub said.

Police said initially that two foreigners had been killed.

It was the fifth shooting or bomb attack in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since Thursday, raising fears that violence is again on the rise following a relative decline in unrest in recent months.

Peshawar is a city of 2.5 million close to the Afghan border and has long been on the frontline of violence blamed on a five-year Taliban insurgency led by militants opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.

Opinion

Editorial

Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....
Rigging claims
Updated 04 May, 2024

Rigging claims

The PTI’s allegations are not new; most elections in Pakistan have been controversial, and it is almost a given that results will be challenged by the losing side.
Gaza’s wasteland
04 May, 2024

Gaza’s wasteland

SINCE the start of hostilities on Oct 7, Israel has put in ceaseless efforts to depopulate Gaza, and make the Strip...
Housing scams
04 May, 2024

Housing scams

THE story of illegal housing schemes in Punjab is the story of greed, corruption and plunder. Major players in these...