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Pakistani tribal leader killed
 A Pakistani tribal politician with close links to Afghan President Hamid Karzai was shot dead in a drive-by attack by suspected Al Qaeda militants Wednesday, officials said. Shahlam Khan, 50, whose brother is Pakistan's ambassador to Qatar, was blasted by masked gunmen from a moving car in Wana, the main town of the turbulent South Waziristan tribal zone on the Afghan border. Bullets struck Khan, the leader of an ethnic Pashtun party, in his chest and shoulder and he died on the way to hospital in the northwestern city of Peshawar, a senior administration official told AFP.Authorities were investigating whether Al Qaeda-linked insurgents were behind the attack. Khan had been receiving threatening letters from them, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Khan's Pushtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party is known for its stance against Taleban and other militants who sneaked into Pakistan's tribal areas after the Islamic regime was ousted by a US-led invasion in late 2001. He was also known for his friendship with Karzai, who is from the same ethnic group. "Khan had close ties with Karzai and had received threatening letters from militants earlier," tribal elder Malik Behram said. Khan's brother, Ayaz Khan, is serving as Pakistan's Ambassador to Qatar, he told AFP. The murder comes six days after another deadly incident involving a pro-government tribesman in northwest Pakistan. On Thursday a tribal leader's son was killed by a bomb blast a month after the elder handed over two young Uzbek militants to authorities in volatile Makeen region, near Wana. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-12-30 |
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