Brother of provincial minister shot dead in Pakistan, 3 video shops torched

Some unidentified gunmen reportedly shot dead a senior police officer, who was brother of a provincial minister, while the miscreants also torched three video shops in Mingora, the district headquarter of Pakistan’s restive Swat region.

Reports said that unknown armed persons opened indiscriminate fire on Inspector Umar Farooq, brother of Forest Minister of troubled North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Wajid Ali Khan, at Shahdara Road killing him on the spot. The deceased was son of former Superintendent of Police Shujaul Mulk Khan and nephew of Muzaffarul Mulk Khan, a member of the National Assembly belonging to the Awami National Party (ANP), which rules the NWFP.

The deceased police officer was presently performing duty at a post in the restive region while earlier he worked as station house officer in Khawazakhela area, where he survived several attempts on his life by militants.

In the meantime, the militants torched three video and music shops in Mingora city, reducing all the goods to ashes.

Spokesman for the Swat chapter of banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Muslim Khan reportedly made a telephone call to a newspaper correspondent saying that it was fate of the owners of the video and music centres as they did not stop their ‘un-Islamic’ business despite repeated warnings.