BAJAUR: Thousands of people on Friday attended the funeral prayers of National Party’s central leader and peace activist Maulana Khan Zeb, who was killed along with a police guard in an attack by unidentified assailants on Thursday.

The funeral prayers of Mr Zeb, the party’s central secretary for religious affairs, was held in his native Nawagai town. A large number of mourners, including party workers, political, social activists and general public attended the funeral.

ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain, senior leader Sardar Hussain Babak, Mohammad Nisar Mohmand, party MPA Mohammad Nisar Khan, and PTI MPAs Dr Hamidur Rehman and Anwar Zeb Khan were also in attendance.

Later, Maulana Zeb was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in the presence of hundreds of followers and admirers.

Earlier, speakers at the funeral condemned the daylight killing of Maulana Zeb as an attempt to silence a bold and energetic voice for peace in Bajaur.

The speakers attributed the murder to the failure of the government to curb such incidents, which have plagued the district for years.

They urged the leaders of all political and religious parties to set aside their differences and launch a united and effective effort to restore peace in the province’s affected areas.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) issued a statement condemning the killing of Maulana Khan Zeb, a leading peace campaigner and political leader of ANP. “We demand a swift and impartial inquiry into this tragic incident,” the rights body wrote in a statement on X.

“The federal and provincial governments must ensure that normalcy returns to the terror-stricken districts of the province and that people who have suffered for decades can lead their lives peacefully and without fear.”

Meanwhile, the first information report (FIR) of the Thursday’s attack on Maulana Khan Zeb’s vehicle was lodged at Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Bajaur on Friday.

The FIR against unknown terrorists on the complaint of Khar Station House Officer Rashid Ahmed was registered under the Terrorism Act 7 ATA, 427, 4 ESA (the Explosive Substance Act), PPC 302 and 324 sections.

According to the FIR, Maulana Khan Zab along with four companions were returning home to Nawagai after a campaign for the July 13 peace march in Khar Bazaar when unidentified terrorists opened fire on his vehicle near a petrol pump on Khar-Inayat Kalley road on Thursday afternoon.

The FIR stated that all five occupants of the vehicle were critically injured in the attack and taken to Khar hospital for treatment, where Maulana Khan Zeb and Sherzada, a policeman, succumbed to their injuries.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayers of police constable Sherzada, who was killed in the Thursday’s attack, was held at the police lines in Civil Colony Khar on Friday morning.

Officials of the district administration and police attended the funeral in large numbers. Later, he was laid to rest in his native Nawagai town.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2025