QUETTA: A tribal elder and the chief of the Rajiha Bugti tribe in Karmanzai was shot dead along with his son by unidentified gunmen in the Dera Bugti district on Saturday.

Police officials said the victims — Nihalan Khan and his son Lal Jan — were on their way home in the Patokh area on a motorcycle when they were targeted by the assailants, who were waiting for them.

Both received multiple bullets and died on the spot, police officials said. The armed men fled the scene and also set the victims’ motorbike on fire.

Security forces rushed to the site after the incident and shifted the bodies to a nearby hospital. The bodies were later handed over to the family after medico-legal formalities.

The cause of the killing was not immediately known. However, the police said old enmity could be the reason behind the killings.

Earlier on Thursday, at least five tribesmen were killed and one injured in an armed clash between two tribes in the Bagh-i-Nari area of the Bolan district over a land dispute.

Officials said armed men of Lehri and Machi tribes took positions in the Ganjlo area and attacked each other. The heavy firing with automatic weapons continued for several hours, res­ulting in the killing of five tribesmen from both sides.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2023