Gunmen kill Pakistani working at Iranian consulate
Friday, 13 November 2009
PESHAWAR, Nov 12 (agencies): Gunmen killed a Pakistani working at the Iranian Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar Thursday, adding to security fears in the country as it presses an offensive against the Taliban along the nearby Afghan border.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which follows the abduction of an Iranian diplomat in Peshawar in November 2008. He remains a hostage.
Iran is mostly a Shiite Muslim country. The victim was also a Shiite Muslim. Sunni Muslim militants like the Taliban and al-Qaida believe Shiites are infidels and often target the sect. In the 1980s, Iran was alleged to have funded radical Shiite groups in the country.
The attackers opened fire on Abul Hasan Jaffri near his home in a central part of Peshawar, police official Mohammad Kamal told The Associated Press.
Jaffri, who was the director of public relations at the consulate, died at a military hospital, he said. The gunmen escaped after the shooting.
Peshawar is one of Pakistan's most dangerous cities and a hotbed of militant and criminal activity.
Meanwhile: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday strongly condemned the attack on an Iranian official and termed itan attempt to damage the Pak-Iran ties, the official APP news agency reported Syed Abul Hasan, Director Public Relations in the Iranian consulate in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, was shot dead at Gulbarg area of the city on Thursday morning.
The two leaders in separate messages condemned the attack that killed the spokesman of the Iranian consulate in Peshawar and directed the provincial authorities to investigate the incident so that the real culprits can be apprehended.
President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani said the relations between Pakistan and Iran were very strong and deep rooted and could not be impacted by such acts.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which follows the abduction of an Iranian diplomat in Peshawar in November 2008. He remains a hostage.
Iran is mostly a Shiite Muslim country. The victim was also a Shiite Muslim. Sunni Muslim militants like the Taliban and al-Qaida believe Shiites are infidels and often target the sect. In the 1980s, Iran was alleged to have funded radical Shiite groups in the country.
The attackers opened fire on Abul Hasan Jaffri near his home in a central part of Peshawar, police official Mohammad Kamal told The Associated Press.
Jaffri, who was the director of public relations at the consulate, died at a military hospital, he said. The gunmen escaped after the shooting.
Peshawar is one of Pakistan's most dangerous cities and a hotbed of militant and criminal activity.
Meanwhile: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday strongly condemned the attack on an Iranian official and termed itan attempt to damage the Pak-Iran ties, the official APP news agency reported Syed Abul Hasan, Director Public Relations in the Iranian consulate in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, was shot dead at Gulbarg area of the city on Thursday morning.
The two leaders in separate messages condemned the attack that killed the spokesman of the Iranian consulate in Peshawar and directed the provincial authorities to investigate the incident so that the real culprits can be apprehended.
President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani said the relations between Pakistan and Iran were very strong and deep rooted and could not be impacted by such acts.