Another religious figure killed in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A Shia elder was shot dead while his son escaped unhurt in an attack near the Kohati Gate on Monday as the target killing of community members continues unabated in the provincial capital.

Locals said Malik Iftikhar Ali, along with his son Hasnain, was on the way near the Kohati Gate when armed motorcyclists opened fire on them. Iftikhar Ali died on the spot while his son remained unharmed in the attack.

The deceased’s relatives and members of the community criticised the police for not arresting the attackers.“Neither the police worked out the cases of attacks on our people nor the government and its ministers bothered to visit the victim families and announce compensation for their children,” said Sardar Abul Hassan, president of theTehreek Nifaz-e-Fiqah Jafria, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He added that a number of members of the community were killed, but none of the government officials ever condemned their killing. He said most of those slain hailed from the Mohallah Marviha locality in old Peshawar,

“Neither the attackers are held nor the community members are provided protection. No compensation is announced for the victims of the target killings despite the fact that the government offers compensation to the victims of other terrorist incidents,” added Sardar Abul Hassan.

Expressing anger, he pointed out that Monday’s target killing incident happened close to a police checkpost but nobody from the force bothered to arrest the accused.

He asked the chief minister, provincial police chief and other concerned quarters to take notice of the frequent killings of the members of the Shia community in Kohati, Kabuli, Yakatoot, Gulbahar, Hayatabad and other parts of the city.

According to Imdad Ali, another elder of the community, at least nine Shia elders killed in the last few months belonged to Mohallah Marviha. They included Sardar Ali Baba, Mohammad Abbas, Dr Syed Saqlain Haider, Safdar Abbas, his brother Mohammad Abbas, Sardar Abid Hassan, his brother Sardar Wajid Hassan, ASI Malik Jarrar Hussain, Sardar Asghar Ali and now Malik Iftikhar Ali.

According to the leaders, the government and police have miserably failed to provide protection to members of the community and compensate the heirs of those killed in targetted killings in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.