Four killed as PTI, ANP workers clash in Mardan

MARDAN: Four political workers including a Tehsil councillor were killed and seven others sustained injuries in an armed clash between activists of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami National Party (ANP) here on Friday.

According to the official sources, the PTI workers led by Tehsil councillor Mohmand Khan were on the way to attend a corner meeting pf their party at Khan Koti located in the jurisdiction of the Hoti Police Station when they encountered the ANP activists, who were also having a party meeting nearby.

The sources added that the activists of the two parties became involved in an argument over display of posters and hoisting of party flags. The situation deteriorated when the two groups opened fire at each other.

Tehsil councillor Mohmand Khan of the PTI and Ikram, Qasim and Shahjehan of the ANP were hit and they were killed on the spot.Nadir Khan, Fakhre Alam, Amir Bacha, Mohammad Azam, Bilal, Islam and Dawood sustained critical injuries in the firing incident.

Eyewitnesses said majority of the injured belonged to the ANP.Police rushed to the site of the incident and arrested four people for their alleged involvement in firing incident.The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital wherefrom Nadir and Fakhre Alam who were critically injured were referred to a hospital in Peshawar for treatment.

The PTI and ANP have been at loggerheads not only in Mardan but also elsewhere in the province. The ANP ruled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the head of a coalition government with the PPP from 2008-2013, but it was trounced by the PTI in the 2013 general election.