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Gunmen kill Pakistani provincial lawmaker: police
Gunmen shot dead two people including a Pakistani provincial lawmaker from Imran Khan's party in the country's restive northwest on Monday, police said.
Gunmen shot dead two people including a Pakistani provincial lawmaker from Imran Khan's party in the country's restive northwest on Monday, police said.
Farid Khan, a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly, was being driven in Hangu city with a friend when six gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, according to witnesses.
"Khan and one of his friends died in the firing while their driver sustained serious injuries," senior local administration official Tahir Abbasi told AFP.
The unknown gunmen fled following the attack.
Farid Khan contested the May 11 election as an independent candidate but later joined cricketer-turned-politician Imran's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Police spokesman Fazal Naeem confirmed the attack and casualties.
PTI emerged as the largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the elections and will lead the new coalition government in the province, which has borne the brunt of Pakistan's Taliban militancy in recent years.
Hangu lies just a few kilometres from Pakistan's lawless tribal regions, where militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have carved out strongholds.
Pakistani troops have for years been locked in deadly battles with domestic insurgents in the northwestern tribal belt, where militants also plot attacks on Afghan and Western targets.
