CHINIOT: Two brothers, who were facing a murder trial on charges of killing their landlady around two years ago, were shot dead on Tuesday by unidentified attackers near Khanuana village in the Bhowana area.

According to police sources, brothers Asad and Rab Nawaz, both residents of Chak 247-JB, Baral, were targeted when they were returning home after appearing in the court for the case hearing.

They were on post-arrest bail in the murder case of their landlady, Naik Bibi, registered against them in 2023.

On being informed of the incident, police teams headed by Bhowana circle DSP Ayub Sahi reached the crime scene, and after collecting evidence, shifted the bodies to the THQ hospital for autopsy.

DPO Abdullah Ahmad has constituted teams to trace and arrest the killers. Police sourcesindicate that an FIR will be registered inlight of the autopsy report.

The murder FIR was lodged on June 2, 2023, by Mehr Yousaf Attiq Baral, who stated that his wife, Naik Bibi (60), went missing on May 31, and after a search, her body was found in the local mosque in a gunny bag.

Yousaf said Naik Bibi was last seen with Asad and Rab Nawaz, who took care of her cattle heads and farmhouse. He said the two brothers might have killed Naik Bibi for scolding them.

Langrana police had registered the case against the brothers under sections 302 and 34 of the PPC and arrested them after a couple of days.

The brothers, however, denied killing the woman in court and afterwards they were granted post-arrest bail.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2025