PARACHINAR: Unidentified gunmen have assassinated a senior political leader Hamid Hussain Turi in Kurram tribal region, officials in the region said on Tuesday.
He was shot dead inside his office in Parachinar, a main city in Kurram tribal agency, late on Monday, according to an official of the local administration. The slain leader was the President of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Kurram agency and was also an active social worker.
No group has claimed responsibility for the killing so far. A senior official in Kurram Agency, Shahid Ali Khan, told the media persons that the authorities are investigating motives behind the murder.
Hundreds of tribal elders have been killed in recent years in the tribal regions of Pakistan in target attacks. Most of the deaths were blamed on the Taliban and other militant groups. Officials said Turi had arrived in his office after he received a phone call from an unidentified man late on Monday.
The assailants had also tortured him before he was shot dead, officials said. The party workers found his body when they opened the office Tuesday morning. A large number of people attended the funeral of the slain leader in Parachinar.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto has also condemned the brutal murder of Turi, the president of the party in Kurram Agency. He strongly urged the relevant authorities to arrest the killers of Toori and give them an exemplary punishment. This was said in a press statement which also took notice of the killings of innocent people in the area since a long time, and said that the relevant authorities have failed to control the situation and restore peace and harmony in the area.
Bilawal offered his condolences and expressed sympathy with the family of the slain leader and assured them that their party is in complete solidarity with them and will not rest until they receive justice. He prayed to Almighty Allah to grant peace to the departed soul and courage and fortitude to the members of the bereaved family to bear this loss.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari also strongly condemned the murder and demanded immediate arrest of killers. He urged that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and the political agent of Kurram Agency to arrest the culprits immediately and punish them.
