PTM leader Arif Wazir shot dead

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Arif Wazir died on Saturday in a hospital here after he sustained bullet injuries.

Wazir, who got out from jail on bail around a month back, got injured after unidentified persons opened fire at him on Friday night, near his house in Wana, in South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Dawn reported. Soon after the shooting, Wazir was rushed to a nearby hospital. Later, he was shifted to an Islamabad hospital.

Wazir’s cousin, Muhammad Ali Wazir in a statement said that he had received three bullet injuries in his body, The News International reported. The police have registered a first information report (FIR) at Wana police station. Back in 2017, seven members of Wazir’s family were killed in a clash with militants near Wana.

Meanwhile, the Amnesty International on Saturday said the authorities must carry out an effective probe into the attack on Arif Wazir and suspected perpetrators must be held accountable.

PTM is a rights-based resistance movement in Pakistan, which has been critical of state policies in the tribal belt. It has also been vocal against the government on the issue of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.