PESHAWAR: Police in northwestern Pakistan said on Sunday they were investigating whether the killing of a senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was the result of a "family feud" in a province where security officials are regularly targeted by militant groups.
FIA Assistant Director Inamullah Khan was shot dead on Saturday by gunmen in Tajjazai, a hamlet in the southern Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Last month, six policemen and two army soldiers were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in separate incidents involving militant groups operating in the region, a senior police official and a statement issued by the military’s media wing, ISPR, said.
District police officer Ziauddin Ahmed told Arab News a police complaint, or FIR, had been registered in Khan’s murder. The complaint is the FIA official’s brother, Imranullah Khan.
“Issue behind the dispute is over a woman, a personal enmity case,” he said, declining to provide further details of the ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson for the FIA, Abdul Ghaffar, also said the murder was one involving “personal enmity.” However, he said police were evaluating the case from “different angles.”
A provincial government spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Imranullah Khan, the brother of the slain officer, said Khan was inspecting construction work at his house in the Mir Walikhel area of Tajjazai when he had a spat with a relative.
“Our relative then opened fire on Inamullah Khan, leaving him dead on the spot,” Imranullah said, adding that the suspect fled the scene.
Khan is survived by a widow and five children.
“We are the eyewitness of the incident and identified Sharifullah alias Shafu as the killer of my brother,” Imranullah added.
Murad Khan, Superintendent of Police (SP) Investigations, said it was premature to comment on the motive behind the killing.
“Probe into the incident is in initial stages and we have yet to identify the causes of the incident. However, I’ve formed a police party to arrest Sharifullah, the main suspect behind the officer’s killing,” the SP said.
Khan’s murder comes as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group announced an end to a ceasefire with the government of Pakistan and vowed to restart attacks across the country.
