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Pro-government Pakistan tribal leader killed: officials
A pro-government tribal leader and vocal critic of Islamist militants were killed on Monday in an ambush near his home in northwest Pakistan, officials said.
A pro-government tribal leader and vocal critic of Islamist militants were killed on Monday in an ambush near his home in northwest Pakistan, officials said.
Guli Shah, 60, was a main leader in the Koki Khel tribe in the wild, semi-autonomous Khyber tribal district bordering Afghanistan.
His driver was also killed and four of his relatives wounded in the attack, a local administration official said.
"Unknown gunmen shot dead Guli Shah when he was leaving home in his car. His driver was also killed on the spot, while four relatives were critically injured," Rahat Gul, an official of Khyber tribal district told AFP.
Armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and waiting in another vehicle, the assailants ambushed Shah in a market close to his home, officials said.
Shah strongly criticised militants operating in lawless Khyber. He supported and was a tribal interlocutor with the Pakistani government, which has been pressing a two-month offensive against the Taliban in the northwest.
Relatives said Shah received written threats from militants and was warned to stop colluding with the government by a militant organisation he initially co-founded, broadcasting on an illegal FM radio station.
An intelligence official, which confirmed the killing, said Shah was a founding member of the banned group but later favoured the government and the militants accused him of disloyalty.
Wednesday's attack comes eight days after a gunman shot dead Qari Zainuddin, a top rival to Pakistan's feared Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud who was increasingly critical of suicide bombings targeting civilians.
Pakistan's military has been keen to exploit splits in militant factions and harness tribal support in the battle against myriad insurgents across the northwest, which Washington has branded the most dangerous place for Americans.
Commanders say they are wrapping up a full-scale operation against Taliban rebels in northwest districts and are preparing to open a second front against Mehsud and his network along the rugged tribal belt.
