Gunmen fired on a vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern border region, killing a pro-government militia leader and five others before torching their bodies, an official told AFP on Thursday.
The attack took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Wednesday, where violence has surged since the Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.
The gunmen fired on the victims, poured fuel onto their vehicle and set it ablaze, a senior administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“The assailants set the vehicle on fire to spread fear, completely charring the bodies of the six victims,” the official said.
No group has claimed responsibility, but the official said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — the Pakistani Taliban — had been demanding extortion money from the militia leader, which he refused to pay, and was killed in reprisal.
Pakistan has accused the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks from there — a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries was closed after clashes this month, sparked by an explosion in Kabul on October 9, killed dozens of civilians and troops on both sides.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government blamed the blast on Pakistan and launched a retaliatory offensive along the border.
A ceasefire brokered over the weekend remained in effect on Thursday, with Pakistani and Afghan officials due to meet in Turkey on Saturday.
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© Agence France-Presse
