DERA ISMAIL Khan: Pakistani police said on Wednesday that they were investigating the deaths of six barbers in a tribal area known for giving terrorists a haven, while they were also attempting to impose their stringent version of Islamic law, which requires males to grow facial hair.
Since the six barbers in the North Waziristan area were shot and killed late on Monday night, there has been a growing concern among the public.
The local police commander, Rokhan Zeb Khan, told Reuters that the six barbers had been shot in the head. “We are investigating; the motives of this incident are not yet known,” said Khan.
Gunmen attacked the six, who were residents of the town of Mir Ali and owners of numerous grooming-related businesses. They were not local residents.
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The barbers, according to Khan, were from a nearby Punjabi community. In the past, foreign individuals have been attacked while assuming the identity of spies for Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies.
The incident takes place during a period of increased attacks by extremist groups, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). But in a statement to the media, a TTP spokesman denied responsibility for the killings.
No organisation has accepted responsibility.
Over the phone with Reuters, the proprietor of a barbershop in the town of Miranshah, North Waziristan, said, “After this incident, I feel very scared; I don’t know whether to go to work or not.” For security reasons, he asked that his identity be kept secret.
“We (the barbers) have no personal security because we are not locals and live here in rooms or shops, so we are even more afraid,” he said.
Pakistani political elites, particularly those from the northwest of the country, have already expressed concerns about the security situation and questioned how fair voting could be held in such a climate of fear ahead of the country’s elections, which are scheduled for next month.
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