ISLAMABAD: Negotiations with the protesters from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) – who had been blocking the Murree Road (N-75) – were successfully carried out by Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat and the senior superintendent of police (SSP) for operations.
“Murree Road has been reopened to traffic after talks with the administration and police,” Shafqaat said on popular micro-blogging site, Twitter. He also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
However, the protestors stated that “If the culprits are not arrested, we will hold a protest again”.
A trio of gunmen shot and killed a cleric, his teenage son, and a student on the outskirts of Islamabad, police said.
A police official, Shahzad Khan, said the killing took place in the Bhara Kahu when JUI-F leader Mufti Ikramur Rehman was heading toward his car with his 13-year-old son and a seminary student late on Saturday night.
Khan said three assailants fired several shots before fleeing the scene. The cleric, his son, and the student received multiple gunshot wounds and died at a hospital.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and Khan said an investigation was underway to ascertain the identity of the assailants and the motive behind the killings.
JUI-F WORKERS BLOCK ROAD:
Meanwhile, the party’s workers and activists protesting the incident blocked Murree Road connecting the capital and Murree.
As of writing, the police were engaged in a dialogue with the protesters who sought immediate arrest of the assailants.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed Mustafa Tanweer were also present at the protest site.
Shafqaat informed the protestors that a First Information Report (FIR) of the incident had been registered at the Bara Kahu police station the attackers will be arrested soon.
