PESHAWAR: Deputy Commissioner Malakand Anwar-ul-Haq said that the levies force has arrested the prime accused the murder of social activist Muhammad Zada Agra.
While presenting the accused – Zubair and Dad Musa Baba – before the media on Monday, Haq said that the identification of the accused has been made through CCTV footage. He added that the accused also confessed to have killed the social activist during preliminary investigation.
Read also: Malakand residents protest murder of social activist
Addressing a press conference at Malakand Levy Line, he said that the killers of another slain youth, Omar Hayat, would also be arrested soon. He said, “Forensic teams and intelligence agencies worked hard to bring the accused to justice.” The deputy commissioner assured that full-fledged campaign against drugs mafia will continue in Malakand. He announced that Muhammad zada Narcotics Force would be setup to root out the drug mafia from Malakand Division. He also claimed to have arrested 30 drug dealers since the murder of the social activist.
On 8 November, Muhammadzad Agra, a local journalist from Sakhakot, was shot dead by unknown persons. The victims had a reputation for speaking out against social evils and drug mafia in Malakand division. A video of his speech in the open court of the Deputy Commissioner is also being widely shared on social media. In his speech, he also leveled allegations against the government officials for harboring drug mafia.
After his murder, residents of Malakand had placed his dead body Malakand road, demanding the government to arrest the killers and provide justice to the bereaved family. Malakand’s Muttahida Trade Union also suspended all business activities and closed the markets across the Malakand.
The protesters urged the government to take effective action against drug mafia and arrest the people behind the murder of social activist. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Minister Mahmood Khan had also took notice of the incident and suspended the chief of Malakand Police and deputy commissioner Altaf Shaikh.
Meanwhile, residents of Sakhakot said that they are not satisfaction with the announcement and termed the arrest of “killers another drama”. They closed Sakhakot bazaar for all business activities and warned that protests will continue until the government take effective action against drug mafia.
The protesters were led by the Central President of Aman Jirga Syed Kamal Shah. Addressing the gathering, Shah said that Muhammad Zada had no enmity with any one and therefore, the people on whose direction the social activist was killed should be brought to justice. He warned that the protest will continue until the government take effective action against drug mafia in Malakand. “The announcement of killers was another drama to mislead the public,” Syed Kamal Shah said.