Father shoots dead young son for refusing to remove PTI's flag in Peshawar

In what seems to be the worst example of political polarisation, a father in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Peshawar shot dead his young son for refusing to take down Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) flag from his home in Peshawar.

The argument broke out when the son, who recently returned from working in Qatar, hoisted the flag of former prime minister Imran Khan´s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party at the family home on the outskirts of Peshawar.

"The father prohibited his son from hoisting the PTI flag at home, but the son refused to take it down and abandon PTI," said district police official Naseer Farid.

"The argument escalated, and in a fit of anger, the father fired a pistol at his 31-year-old son, before fleeing the house."

The son died on the way to the hospital.

Police are searching for the father, who was affiliated with the nationalist Awami National Party and had previously displayed their flag.

Elections which are scheduled for February 8 are often marred with violence in Pakistan, with candidates targeted by bombings and gun attacks.

In the first week of February some 5,000 paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) forces will deploy to the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, commander Moazzam Jah Ansari told AFP.

A day earlier, the caretaker federal cabinet accorded approval to a summary seeking deployment of the Pakistan Army and troops of civil armed forces to help the civil institutions in holding a free, fair and peaceful general election.

The development came during a meeting of the federal cabinet held with caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in the chair.

“The troops will perform duties in sensitive constituencies and polling stations and will also act as a rapid response force,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

On the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior, the federal cabinet unanimously okayed the deployment of the Pakistan Army and the civil armed forces personnel at sensitive polling stations across the country during the upcoming general elections.