Panic and tension seized Sunday after unidentified armed men launched two separate attacks aimed at the prominent Maulana Clean Qazi Nisar Ahmed and Senior Judge Malik Inayatur Rehman. The assaults left five people injured and forced companies through the city to close.
According to the Interior Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Shams Lone, the unidentified attackers opened fire near the police headquarters, wounding Mulana Qazi Nisar Ahmed, the Ameer de Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, along with his driver and two security guards. It was reported that all the injured were in stable condition.
The second attack occurred near the city hospital, where armed men fired the vehicle from the main judge of the Malik Inayat Ur Rehman court. The judge escaped unharmed, although his car suffered multiple bullet blows.
“No one will be allowed to interrupt peace in Gilgit-Baltistan,” said Minister Lone, promising that the culprits would be tracked and made an example of.
Government spokesman Faizullah Faraq described the assault to Qazi Nisar as a “cowardly attempted to drag the region to chaos”, adding that the government was determined to maintain peace and unity.
Following the incidents, fear and anger extended by Gilgit. The protesters blocked the roads in various parts of the city, erected barriers and demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers. Interurban traffic between Gilgit and Islamabad was also suspended due to the greatest security concerns.
In solidarity, young people from all areas of life condemned attacks, urging the authorities to stop terrorists and guarantee lasting peace in the region.
Social networks were full of users condemning the attacks and demanding rapid action, which reflects generalized outrage and concern for the deterioration of the situation of the law and order.
A senior police officer reported that the attackers left two vehicles before fleeing from the scene.
Prime Minister Haji Gulbar Khan and Governor Syed Mehdi Shah strongly condemned the twin attacks, qualifying them a “conspiracy to destabilize peace” and ordered the agencies of application of the law that apprehend those responsible without delay.
