Pakistani lawmaker shot and killed, police say

KARACHI, Pakistan, June 3 (UPI Next) -- Farid Khan, a newly elected member of the provincial assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was killed in the town of Hangu Monday, local police officials said.

Hangu is a few kilometers from Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions, where militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida have carved out strongholds.

Police officials said unidentified assailants opened fire at Khan’s car, killing Khan. His brother, Shah Nawaz, was injured, but the driver died in the hospital during treatment, police officials said.

Protesters took to the streets in Hangu after Khan’s killing, damaging shops and burning tires. Shops and business areas in the Hangu Bazaar, the town’s main shopping district, were closed.

Khan was elected from Hangu as an independent candidate and later joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, led by cricket star Imran Khan.

Imran Khan condemned the killing, as did Jahanzaib Khan Bahadur, an adviser to the province’s new chief minister, the PTI’s Pervaiz Khattak. He told UPI Next by phone that the PTI strongly condemned the killing.

“We are communicating with the leadership, after the decision of leadership a proper investigation team will be formed to investigate the reason and motive of murder of Farid Khan,” he said.