PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Deputy Speaker Mehmood Jan escaped alleged attempt on his life and remained unhurt while attending an event in Shagai area of the provincial capital on Friday.

Unknown men fired on Deputy Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Mehmood Jan in the provincial capital’s Regi area, police confirmed. Police said the firing incident took place close to a compound where Mehmood Jan was present.

SSP Operations Kashif Abbasi said a police contingent was dispatched to the crime scene. He said efforts were under way to arrest the suspects. Abbasi added that he came under attack during the inauguration ceremony of a development project.

The motive of the attack could not be ascertained as yet, he added. Jan was elected to the KP assembly on a general seat in 2018 and went on to become the deputy speaker that same year. In his statement, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Mehmood Jan said he was attacked while addressing a livestock-related event. He added that the guards fired back at the attackers. Jan added that he or anyone else was not injured in the attack; however, the attackers escaped.

Meanwhile, Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mushtaq Ghani strongly condemned the life attempt on deputy speaker of the provincial assembly Mehmood Jan. “We strongly deplore the shooting incident and demand of the departments concerned to arrest the culprits immediately”.

In a press conference Friday, Additional IG KP Police Mohammad Ali Babakhel said that during the ongoing year, the police conducted 2,715 operations against terrorists.

“Ransom calls from Afghanistan and suicide bombings in Waziristan are huge challenges. However, we are witnessing positive outcomes of our operations in Malakand,” he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022