PESHAWAR, March 1: An indefinite curfew was imposed on Hangu town after eight people were shot dead and five others wounded in sectarian violence on Thursday, official sources said.
The violence erupted after an unidentified attacker had shot dead three shopkeepers and injuring another in the main bazaar of Hangu, about 160km from here.
Militia reinforcements were called in by the district administration in the afternoon when the situation worsened with members from the two sects using light and heavy sophisticated weapons against each other across the town and its suburbs.
The law enforcement agencies were given shoot-at-sight orders for any one found violating the curfew.
A doctor at Hangu's district headquarters hospital confirmed eight deaths and injuries to five persons till 6pm.
Later, telephone links with the riot-hit town broke down. Roads to Hangu were closed down for all kinds of vehicles.
According to official and independent sources, an unidentified armed man, boarding a pick-up, fired at some shopkeepers in the main Hangu bazaar at 12 noon. The assailant fled.
Out of the four shopkeepers hit, two died on the spot and another succumbed to injuries at the DHQ hospital.
Soon, riots spread throughout the whole town. All bazaars and commercial centres were closed down as a mob set ablaze many vehicles and shops at the main bus-stand.
People were rendered restricted indoors at their workplaces because of continued extensive firing in many parts of the town.
"We are feeling insecure as firing continues to go on," a senior doctor at the DHQ hospital told Dawn.
In the evening, several militia trucks were seen proceeding to Hangu from Kohat.
Among the dead were seven local men and one visitor from the North Waziristan Agency in FATA. Hospital sources identified some of the dead as Syed Jawad Hussain, Nisar Ali, Haji Minhaj Ali, and Subedar Lalmai. Bodies were kept at the DHQ hospital.
The man belonging to Mir Ali in the North Waziristan Agency, who was hit by a rocket, was identified as Bakhtawar Khan.
The injured included Shah Turab and Naseer Khan from Hangu, Haji Zakeem Khan from Mir Ali (NWA), Haji Aziz from Lakki Marwat and Zulmat Shah from Teerah in the Khyber Agency.
Till 7pm, the exchange of fire was continuing at Pass Killay and Shah Almast in the suburbs of Hangu.
Security was tightened in the adjoining Orakzai Agency.
In March 1998, sectarian violence had claimed over 30 lives in Hangu.
March 5, 2001: Arms
recovery in Hangu: govt asked to be even-handed
HANGU: Several religious scholars strongly protesting against the operation for arms recovery in Hangu claimed the authorities have launched one-sided operation against the minority people. The Khateeb of Babul Ilam mosque (Faizullah Khan) Allama Khurshid Anwar Jawadi and members of Shia Supreme Council, Malik Nawab Khan Advocate and Syed Moeen Syed Mian, have urged the government to be even-handed during the operation. They said the authorities should have launched this operation in villages and towns instead of the city. They said both Shias and Sunnis have been living here peacefully for centuries and it were the settlers and others from villages who ignited flames of war and hatred in the city. They said the Mohallah Passkaley has a population of about 5,000 so how could they resort to violence against a population of over 500,000 living on four sides of the city. They asked the interior minister to arrest the culprit.
Two suspects arrested