MINGORA/PESHAWAR, May 1: Unidentified gunmen resorted to firing in the air when Awami National Party candidate and former provincial minister Wajid Ali Khan was touring his constituency PK-80 Swat here on Wednesday.

The firing, which followed a verbal clash between Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and ANP supporters, created panic among the campaigners and people present in the main bazaar of Mingora city.

According to details, Mr Khan was on election campaign along with his supporters in the bazaar where he contacted local traders going from shop to shop.

During the campaign, an altercation took place between the ANP supporters and a trader named Abbas, who was a strong supporter of the JI.

When contacted, Mr Khan told Dawn that he was on election campaign in the bazaar to seek votes of the traders when a verbal clash took place between him and a local trader. He said that when they left his shop some unknown persons resorted to firing in the air, which made the situation tense.

Answering a question, he said that the issue would be settled through negotiations, as both parties were trying to solve the matter to ensure a peaceful environment for election.

Soon after the incident, Wajid Ali Khan also called a press conference at his residence in Mingora where he said that they were carrying out the election campaign in the worst law and order situation.

He said that targeting campaign of the ANP was condemnable, which would spoil the peaceful environment of the district.

Jamaat-i-Islami candidate for PK-80 Mohammad Amin also held a press conference at Swat Press Club and clarified that the ANP candidate and his supporters were convincing a JI worker to cast his vote in favour of Wajid Ali, while JI campaigners were also present there. Both sides were giving arguments in support of their respective political parties, which led to the clash between the two sides.

Mr Amin, however, blamed the ANP supporters for torturing a JI worker and demanded of the provincial caretaker government and the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident.

BOMB DEFUSED: Police foiled a sabotage attempt and defused an improvised explosive device planted near the election office of Awami National Party leader Arbab Nazeer, a candidate for PK-8 Peshawar, on Wednesday. DSP Ashfaq Khan told Dawn that five kilogrammes of explosives packed in a ghee canister were planted at the place. “We got information through a local informer and immediately reached the spot along with the personnel of bomb disposal unit,” the DSP said.

He said that the bomb planted close to the election office located in a populated area was successfully defused and destruction was averted.