TAXILA: Former Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Attock and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Malik Shahan Hakmeen Khan was shot dead in Attock on Wednesday.

Mr Hakeem Khan, the son of veteran PPP leader Malik Hakmeen Khan, arrived at Sheebagh area to offer funeral prayers of his supporter Iqbal Hussain Shah. A man shot him and escaped. Mr Shahan was taken to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Attock from where he was taken to Rawalpindi in a Rescue-1122 ambulance but he succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital in Rawalpindi.

“We were near DHQ hospital Rawalpindi when he breathed his last,” said District Emergency Officer Ishfaq Mian. Malik Hameed Akbar Khan, a former candidate of the provincial assembly and close aide of Mr Khan, said the bullet injury on the head and massive bleeding from his wound led to his death.

Mr Hakeem Khan was elected MPA in the 2008 general elections on a PPP ticket from PP-15 Attock-I. He remained a member of the committee on privileges and standing committee on mines and minerals during his tenure.

An agriculturist, Mr Khan was born on April 26, 1971. He obtained his early education from Aitchison College and then from Government College, Lahore and obtained a BSBA degree in 1996 from Washington DC. His father was elected MPA for three terms in 1972, 1977 and 1988 and also served as minister in Punjab cabinet during 1972-77, holding portfolios of housing and physical planning, auqaf, food, cooperatives and prisons. During the martial law in 1977, his father played a significant role in the revival of democracy and faced hardships for about eight years. His father was elected as senator in 1994.

Mr Khan’s funeral would be held in his native village Sheebagh on Thursday. He left behind a widow and two children. Soon after his body arrived at his native house, a large number of supporters, admirers, party workers and leaders flocked to share their sympathies with the family of the deceased.

According to police sources, he was shot dead by a 19-year-old man. Family sources said the reason behind the cold blooded murder was a dispute over property. Other sources said the suspect was arrested and shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2021