PESHAWAR: Militants killed nine men in a raid on a house of anti-Taliban activists in northwest Pakistan yesterday, the latest violence to hit fledgling peace talks.
The attack came as Taliban and government negotiators try to start meaningful talks to end a seven-year Islamist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
A government negotiator said yesterday the Taliban had agreed to enter direct dialogue without intermediaries if their safety could be guaranteed.
Around two dozen fighters were involved yesterday’s attack in Mashukhel neighbourhood of Peshawar, close to the lawless Khyber tribal district, where Taliban and Islamist groups are active.
Taliban and other militant groups have been targeting locals who support the security forces or have formed vigilante groups against them.
“At least nine men were shot dead by militants who stormed into a house around 4.30am firing with automatic weapons and exploding hand grenades,” senior police official Fazal-e-Wahid said.
Furious residents blocked the main highway linking Peshawar with the garrison town of Kohat for some time to protest against the killings, Tilla Khan, a local peace committee member, said.
The attack came a day after 13 people were killed by a triple grenade attack on a Peshawar cinema which was showing pornography.
Earlier in the month a separate cinema in the city was also hit by grenades, killing four and wounding 31.
AFP
