QUETTA: District Election Commissioner, Quetta, Ziaullah Qasmi, was shot dead and an auto-rickshaw driver wounded in an ambush in the Satellite Town here on Tuesday.
The 45-year-old district election commissioner was on his way to his office at the Jinnah Road in an auto-rickshaw. When the rickshaw reached the Chandni Chowk near the Saryab Road, unidentified armed men attacked the EC official. He sustained multiple bullet wounds and breathed his last on way to the Civil Hospital.
The driver of the rickshaw, who sustained minor injuries in the firing incident, attempted to shift the injured DEC to hospital but due to a traffic jam in the provincial capital, Qasmi succumbed to his injuries.
On being informed, officials of the police and administration reached the spot of the incident and started routine formalities.The body of the deceased was removed to the morgue of Civil Hospital, while the rickshaw driver was provided necessary medical treatment. Later, the body of deceased was dispatched to his native district Sargodha.
Election Commissioner, Balochistan, Syed Sultan Bayazid, told media men that the DEC was on his way from his office located at the Saryab Road to the provincial headquarter of the election commission in the auto-rickshaw.
To a question about the DEC travelling in an auto rickshaw, the election commissioner, Balochistan, said that due to security point of view, the EC officials give priority to motorcycles and auto-rickshaws.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has accepted responsibility for the killing of Ziaullah Qasmi. APP adds: Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf strongly condemned the killing of the Quetta DEC.
The prime minister said the government was determined to eradicating militancy from the country. He said such incidents could not deter the government’s resolve to fight terrorism.Meanwhile, two more persons were shot dead in separate incidents in Balochistan.
Unknown armed men gunned down a man in Nawa Killi area. According to police, the victim, identified as Abdul Razzaq, was on his way home when armed assailants riding a motorbike opened fire at him, leaving him injured.
Police reached the site and shifted the injured to the Civil Hospital, where the victim succumbed to his injuries.Separately, unknown gunmen killed a man in the Mushk area of Zehri, Levies officials said. They said the armed men opened fire at Allah Bakhsh, killing him on the spot and fled.