PESHAWAR Two people died and three suffered bullet wounds in an attacks by unidentified gunmen in South Waziristan Agency, locals said on Wednesday.
In the first incident, reported from Tiarza area, Muhammad Hussain, in his early 60s, was going home along with his children on Tuesday evening when he was picked up by four assailants, said Shanawaz, who works as a daily wage earner.
Quoting Hussain’s mother, Shanawaz said: “The children came home and told me that their father was picked up by four men. That moment we heard four gun shots and later found that Hussain has been killed.”
Former Senator Saleh Shah said that the slain man, a resident of his native village, did not have any personal enmity and was not involved in militancy either.
“The cycle of violence and insecurity seems to have started again in the area with these gruesome incidents,” he said.
In the second incident, unidentified attackers lobbed a grenade into a house in Srarogha soon after Maghreb prayers on Tuesday. The attack left Shah Mehmood dead on the spot, while a woman and two children suffered injuries, Sikander Hayat told Daily Times by phone.
He said that locals rushed to the blast site because the explosion was of high intensity which had shaken the entire locality. The locals shifted the injured to the nearest Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) where they were reported to be in a stable condition.
Last week, almost 3,000 tribesmen had held a sit-in against rising incidents of targetted attacks in North Waziristan Agency. The sit-in continued for five days and was called off only after assurances from the authorities of concerted action against elements involved in violence.
Three tribal NWA elders had been killed by unidentified gunmen in separate incidents. At least eight tribesmen have been killed in the latest series of atatcks in North Waziristan this month.
The protesting locals maintained that the authorities had not done enough to ensure their security. Not a single suspect has so far been arrested, said Sikander Hayat.
The former senator continued that since the repatriated families were completely disarmed and could not defend themselves or ensure their security on their own, the authorities should adopt urgent measure to ensure a sense of security in the region.
“Authorities in the two restive North and South Waziristan tribal regions should employ all measures because the security of newly repatriated families depends on them,” Shah said.
If the growing incidents of insecurity and targeted killings were not controlled, people would launch another sit-in, he said.
Javed Iqbal Wazir, a PTI candidate for NA from North Waziristan, said that incidents of targeted killings were extremely deplorable and the authorities concerned should work out a strategy to stonewall such incidents in future.
“These incidents create sense of insecurity and alienation among tribal people who will stage another sit-in if security is not improved in this volatile part of the country,” he added. He said he would visit every village and leave no stone unturned to mobilize people to help authorities ensure security in the area.
Published in Daily Times, May 24th 2018.
