Pastor shot dead, another injured in Peshawar

KP chief minister vows exemplary punishment for culprits

A Christian pastor was killed, while another sustained injuries in a gun attack near Peshawar’s Madina Market on Sunday.

The incident took place in the jurisdiction of Gulbahar Police Station. The police said William Siraj was a pastor at a local church that fell in the jurisdiction of Chamkani Police Station in the provincial capital. They said the pastors were attacked on the Ring Road when they were travelling in a van.

A Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson also confirmed the death of Pastor Siraj, and said that another person named Patrick was slightly wounded and was in a stable condition.

The body was handed over to the family of the pastor, while the injured person was being treated accordingly, the hospital administration added.

Meanwhile, a heavy contingent of police reached the crime scene and started a search operation in the area. They added that entry and exit points were also under surveillance to nab any suspicious person. The cameras installed in the nearby market would also be examined by the investigation team, police said.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan took notice of the firing and directed the KP Police inspector general to immediately arrest the culprits involved in the incident. In a statement, the chief minister termed the firing on religious personalities of Christian community a highly condemnable act and said that culprits involved in the heinous incident would not go scot free.

He said that culprits would immediately be arrested and awarded exemplary punishment.

Expressing his heartiest sorrow over the killing of the assistant priest, Mahmood Khan condoled with his family and the whole Christian community of the province. Expressing heartiest sympathies with the bereaved family, the chief minister said that the provincial government and people of the province fully shared the grief of the Christian community. AGENCIES