Israr Gandapur’s family still awaits justice

3rd death anniversary

PESHAWAR: Three years after the assassination of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Israrullah Gandapur in a suicide attack, his family is still looking for justice.

The third anniversary of the slain politician would be observed today. Seven people were killed and several others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the hujra of Israrullah Gandapur on the day of Eidul Azha on October 16, 2013 in Kulachi area in Dera Ismail Khan.

The two brothers of the slain minister, his widow, seven-year old son Sardar Inayatullah Khan Gandapur Junior and three-year old daughter Sherbano are all seeking justice from the federal and the provincial governments in the case of Israrullah Gandapur’s killing.

Interestingly, one of the brothers of the deceased is member of cabinet in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government while another is a senior government official. However, they complained on a number of occasions that justice was never done to the family by the government, in which the young Israrullah Gandapur was an important minister looking after law portfolio.

“Israrullah Gandapur was not martyred out of religious fanaticism but the services of a rented suicide bomber were acquired to eliminate him,” alleged one of his close family members. He said Israrullah Gandapur had escaped two early attempts on his life but the third proved successful.

“He was a competent, honest and educated leader who wanted to correct things in the society and the government. However, he couldn’t get a chance to prove his skills and died quite young,” he added.

The family had also written letters to the federal and provincial governments to look thoroughly into the case and provide justice to the kids of the former cabinet member. They had complained that despite a few clear leads the government isn’t making any effort to track down the perpetrators of the attack. Israrullah Gandapur had graduated from Edwardes College, Peshawar and done his master’s in political science from the University of Peshawar.