Teacher and prayer leader die in sectarian violence
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, March 13: A teacher and a prayer leader were gunned down and another man was wounded in sectarian violence on Tuesday.
The fresh deaths bring to eight the total number of people falling prey to a spate of sectarian violence in the past one week.
Niaz Ahmad, a private university teacher, was going to work when he was attacked by unidentified motorcyclists. He died on the spot. The attackers fled the area. Niaz Ahmad belonged to the Shia community.
Soon after the incident, the prayer leader of a mosque was shot dead by unidentified terrorists.
Officials said that Mohammad Farooq, the prayer leader of Jamia Masjid Kalan, was going to the bazaar when he was attacked by two motorcyclists from behind. He received fatal injuries and died while being taken to hospital.
Later, two terrorists opened fire on Hafiz Ishaq inside his shop, wounding him seriously. The attackers fled the area on bike.
Officials said that the district administration had imposed a ban on the use of motorcycles in the Dera Ismail Khan city for 48 hours. All schools and other educational institutions in the area have been closed because of the wave of sectarian violence in the area.
The administration has also increased security around sensitive areas in the city and deployed police force along streets to maintain law and order in area.