Village razed to the ground in Hangu

posted in dawn


Militants razed a whole village to the ground in Shahu Khel area by conducting a series of blasts on the third consecutive night in Hangu district on Saturday.

The village had roughly 100 houses and families belonging to a rival sect had been migrating after the Taliban started target killings and kidnappings a few months ago.

The TTP is in complete control of Shahu Khel and its militants started blowing up houses after security forces and police started operations against them and eliminated some of their important training camps and hideouts. They had planted 40 bombs and blown up as many houses on Saturday night. Earlier, they had destroyed two schools, an Imambargah, two houses and a basic health unit on Friday night.

Blasts continued since Saturday night and by Sunday the entire village was razed to the ground. No casualties were reported from the area as the entire village was empty after the migration of the entire population to safer places.

Leaders of the Qaumi Wahdat Council have been urging the government to improve its writ in Shahu Khel so that the people displaced by the Taliban could return to their village.

Security forces have often used artillery fire to stop the Taliban from blowing up houses, but with little success.

It is the same area where a renowned cleric and office-bearer of JUI-F, Maulana Muhammad Amin, was killed in an air strike in his Jamia Yousufia seminary in June last year.

At least 13 people, including children, eight women and prominent religious leaders, were killed and several injured in shelling by helicopter gunships in Hangu. Maulana Muhammad Amin, whose 12-year-old nephew was also killed in the air strike, was also the deputy chairman of Sunni Supreme Council. During shelling at another seminary in Shahu Khel, three women were killed when a house was hit by helicopter gunships.