Five of a family killed in DI Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Five members of a family, including women and children, were killed and two others sustained injuries when relatives traded fire over a drainage channel dispute in Sherokhana area here on Friday.

Police officials said that 16-year-old Umar Farooq Sheikh, a resident of Sherokhana, lodged a report at Dera Town Police Station, saying that their house was adjacent to that of his uncle, Mujeebullah Sheikh.

A quarrel, he said, between children and women over a drainage channel led to a growing tension between his father and uncle.

He said that his father, 54-year-old Hafiz Saeedullah Sheikh, had just returned home after offering Taraweeh prayers when his uncle Mujeebullah Sheikh, armed with a repeater, along with his cousins Muhammad Ali and Abu Bakr Siddiq, attacked him.

Hearing the commotion, he said, he, his mother, his sister Ayesha Bibi (12), his 9-year-old brother Owais, and his 14-year-old cousin Osama Sheikh stepped out to see what had happened.

However, the attackers opened indiscriminate fire, killing Hafiz Saeedullah Sheikh, Gulshan Bibi, Ayesha Bibi and Osama Sheikh on the spot.During the crossfire, Mujeebullah Sheikh’s own son, 24-year-old Abu Bakr Siddiq, was also fatally shot.

Umar Farooq and his younger brother Owais sustained injuries in the attack.

Following the incident, local police arrived at the scene and launched an investigation.