TANK, Feb 20: Unidentified motorcyclists shot dead two persons, including a former member of a peace committee, and injured another here on Wednesday.

Police and local people said that Gul Mohammad Shah, former member of a peace committee, was standing with a vender at Tank Bazaar when two motorcyclists opened indiscriminate firing on him.

He was killed on the spot while the vender identified as Tariq and a passerby Zar Janan sustained critical injuries, they added.

The injured were shifted to district headquarters hospital in Dera Ismail Khan where Tariq succumbed to his injuries.

Mohammad Shah, a brother of the former peace committee member, lodged FIR at Saddar police station against unidentified assailants.

TRIBESMEN FREED: The political administration of South Waziristan Agency set free on Wednesday 24 Mehsud tribesmen, who were arrested under collective responsibility clause of FCR in connection with kidnapping of eight employees of Gomal Zam Dam.

Political Agent Shahidullah issued their release order after a jirga of Mehsud elders held meeting with him in Tank. Malik Masud, Malik Rapa Khan, Maulana Jamaluddin, Malik Hanan, Malik Javed, Malik Ayub and other tribal elders attended the meeting.

Sources said that the tribal elder told the political authorities that the arrested men were not responsible for kidnapping of the Gomal Zam Dam employees. The employees were kidnapped on August 15 last year when they were going to their homes on leave.

The tribal elders said that the arrested persons were innocent and had nothing to do with the kidnapping case. They appealed to the administration to release the tribesmen.

The political agent accepted their demand and set free 24 tribesmen, however, he said that tribal elders played no role to recover the kidnapped employees.

He said family members of the kidnapped employees were holding protests but tribal elders failed to play a positive role in the regard.

He urged them to peruse the militants to release the kidnapped employee or help in decreasing the ransom amount.

The tribal elders assured the political agent that they would expedite their efforts to release the kidnapped employees.