KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — A local political official says a group of gunmen shot and killed an anti-Taliban tribal elder in Pakistan’s volatile northwest near the Afghan border.
Abdul Haseeb says Sunday’s attack occurred as Malik Abdul Qayum was getting into his vehicle in Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal area. Gunmen sprayed the car with bullets, killing Qayum and wounding his cousin, who was driving.
Haseeb says the shooting was the latest attack against tribal elders who have organized local militias to battle militants.
The Pakistani government has encouraged the formation of the militias to counter a growing Taliban-led insurgency that has killed more than 600 people in the past three months.
