Tribal elder killed in Jamrud attack

ANDIKOTAL: Three tribesmen, including a prominent pro-government elder, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Jamrud sub-division of Khyber Agency on Wednesday.

Tribal elder Malik Guli Shah Kukikhel, along with his companions, was on way to the office of the political administration when armed men opened fire on them in Tedi Bazaar area in Jamrud. Son of the slain elder Meraj Shah told The News that his father and his three bodyguards were on way to the office of the political administration when some people, travelling in a non-custom-paid car, opened fire on them. He said his father, his driver Shahid and bodyguard Talib died on the spot.

Guli Shah’s younger brother Mehboob, alias Babu, and his two other bodyguards, Neik Muhammad and Salim, sustained bullet injuries. The assailants managed to flee. Guli Shah, a tribal elder known for his close contacts with the government, had escaped an attempt on his life a few months ago in Shah Kas area in Jamrud. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the Khyber Agency-based religious organisation Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), headed by Mangal Bagh.

Soon after the Wednesday’s incident, members of the Kukikhel tribe gathered in the area and blocked the Peshawar-Torkham Road to protest the incident. The protesters burnt tyres and placed stones on the road and blocked it for all kinds of traffic for three hours. The angry protesters also burnt a vehicle of the Khassadar Force (tribal police) in Tedi Bazaar. Later, the road was opened at the intervention of officials of the political administration and elders from the Kukikhel tribe.