Traders’ leader shot dead in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The widely respected and outspoken traders’ leader Haji Abdul Haleem Jan fell victim to the increasing target killings in the city on Tuesday when an armed attacker fired at him in his shop in the busy Qissa Khwani Bazaar.

Traders shut the markets including Qissa Khwani, Khyber Bazaar, Kabari Bazaar, Mohallah Jangi, Sikander Pura, Ghanta Ghar and Hashtnagri to protest the murder of the senior trader who was called Baba-e-Tajiran (father of traders) for championing the cause of the community. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) and other trade bodies announced three-day mourning for the late Haleem Jan.

Haleem Jan was a former president of the KPCCI and the incumbent head of the Anjuman-e-Tajiran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the largest representative body of the traders.

Police officials said the attacker came from the Kabari Bazaar side and opened fire on Haleem Jan in his shop in Qissa Khwani. The elderly trader, who was in his 70s, received four bullets. He was rushed to the nearby Lady Reading Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Some locals told the media that the attacker created panic among the people in the area by claiming that a bomb had been planted in the bazaar and then targetted Haleem Jan.

A large number of his relatives, traders’ leaders and politicians reached the hospital after hearing the news about the attack on Haleem Jan. There were moving scenes at the hospital as some of his relatives and traders broke down after seeing his body.

The funeral prayer for the deceased was offered at Qissa Khwani Bazaar in the evening. He was laid to rest at the Akhun Darveza Baba graveyard in Hazarkhwani. A large number of people attended the last funeral rites of the deceased.

There were reports that like many other traders Haleem Jan, too, had received calls for extortion after which a police guard was provided to him. However, according to the local police officials, the guard was accompanying his son in the Saddar Bazaar at the time of the incident.

“He had received extortion calls last year. However, the motive of the killing will be determined after investigation,” Capital City Police Officer Mubarak Zeb told The News. He did not rule out the possibility of involvement of the extortionists in the attack but hastened to add that investigators would look at all aspects of the incident. Chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, a number of politicians and senior government officials visited the residence of the slain traders’ leader and offered fateha for the departed soul.

The PTI chairman and chief minister KP directed the police to arrest the killers of Haleem Jan and improve law and order in Peshawar and other cities.

The targetted killings in the provincial capital have increased over the last few weeks as policemen, Shia elders and high-profile individuals have been killed by unknown armed men. Besides, the bombing of the houses of people by the extortionists have also increased in the last few weeks, setting the alarm bells ringing.