Islamabad: The Taliban today stepped up
attacks on civilians and pro-government tribesmen in northwest
Pakistan, killing five persons including a politician and a
militia leader even as nine militants were killed in violence
in the restive region.
In a bid to instill fear among its opponents before the
Pakistan Army`s impending operation in Waziristan, 50 heavily
armed Taliban militants stormed into the premises of a leader
of a pro-government `lashkar` or tribal militia in Shangla
district in restive Malakand division and shot him dead.
Rehman is the second big lashkar leader to have been
killed by the Taliban over the past five weeks. Earlier,
another top militant commander Qari Zainuddin, a rival of
Tehrik-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, was shot dead.
Haji Khalil Khan, a leader of the opposition PML-Q and a
relative of former federal minister Amir Muqam, was killed
this morning when militants attacked his `hujra` or guesthouse
in a village in Shangla.
Khan`s son and two relatives were injured in the attack,
police said. Khan`s relatives exchanged fire with the
militants, killing two of them.
Witnesses and locals said this was the first time Taliban
fighters had resurfaced in Shangla since the military launched
operations against them in the region in May.
Bureau Report
