An assistant director of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near the authority's office in Peshawar's Hayatabad area on Friday morning, police said. The official was identified as Fahad Khan, the nephew of Member of the National Assembly Noor Alam Khan.
According to Peshawar police spokesperson Alam Khan, Fahad was shot in an area behind the NADRA office in Phase 5, within the jurisdiction of Hayatabad police station. The Express Tribune reported that he was on his way to duty when he was attacked, while Hum English reported that he was parking his vehicle in the NADRA office premises and heading towards the building when the gunmen opened fire.
Police reached the scene after being informed of the incident and recovered eight spent casings of a .30-bore pistol, the spokesperson said. The victim's body was shifted to a hospital for a post-mortem examination, and police said a comprehensive investigation was under way to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing and trace those responsible.
Fahad was the son of Sharoom and a resident of Kafur Dheri, according to the Tribune. The Current reported that he was also the nephew of the late Fareedullah Khan, a former chairman of Mathra tehsil. Noor Alam Khan confirmed the death of his nephew and, according to reports, described the attackers as terrorists.
The motive for the killing has not yet been established. Initial reports suggested that personal enmity may have led to the attack, and Dawn quoted investigators as saying that land disputes involving the victim were also being examined. 'There were land disputes ongoing; we are looking into whether that was behind the incident, or if it was some other issue,' the report quoted an official as saying.
Police said efforts were under way to identify the suspects with the help of CCTV cameras installed in the NADRA office parking area, and that raids were being conducted to arrest those responsible. No arrests had been reported by the time the reports were filed, and no group had claimed responsibility for the shooting.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the killing, terming the incident 'absolutely condemnable and unacceptable'. The governor's condemnation came as the province continues to face a wave of attacks on government employees and law enforcement personnel, particularly in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The shooting adds to a grim week for public servants in the province. A day earlier, two policemen guarding polio workers were shot dead in Mohmand as a nationwide vaccination drive continued, and Pakistan reported its ninth polio case of the year, a seven-month-old boy from Khyber. The province has also been at the centre of a political and security crisis, with the federal government moving against the provincial administration and the Election Commission postponing local government elections across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
For the police, the immediate task is to piece together what happened in the minutes before the shooting. The recovered casings have been sent for forensic examination, the CCTV footage from the office premises is being reviewed, and investigators are speaking to witnesses and to the victim's family to determine whether the killing was a targeted attack, the result of a personal dispute, or connected to something else entirely.
Until those questions are answered, the killing of a young government officer outside his own workplace in broad daylight will stand as another reminder of the insecurity facing officials in Peshawar. The police investigation is continuing, and further details are expected as the post-mortem findings come in and the search for the attackers progresses.
