PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed for an indefinite period the election for the office of Dera Ismail Khan mayor after an Awami National Party (ANP) contestant was shot dead outside his residence late Friday.
A returning officer is expected to issue a notification announcing the same shortly. The schedule of polls in other constituencies of the city will remain unchanged, however.
According to police, unidentified gunmen riding a motorbike targeted Omar Khitab Sherani, city president of the party, outside his residence in the Model Town neighbourhood, killing him on the spot.
His body was shifted to a hospital for a post-mortem assessment.
“We want justice and we want it now. This cannot go on any more,” Samar Haroon Bilour, a spokesperson of the party, tweeted.
Omar Khitab Sherani , ANP Candidate for Tehseel Mayor of DI Khan has been shot dead in front of his house !! We want justice and we want it now . This cannot go on any more
— Samar Haroon Bilour (@SamarHBilour) December 18, 2021
Sherani was a candidate for the office of mayor in local body elections, the first phase of which is scheduled to be held on December 19 (Sunday). In the second phase, the elections will be held in 18 districts of the province on January 16.
Police rushed to the crime scene and cordoned it off while beginning the hunt for the attackers.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan expressed grief over the incident and directed police to arrest the culprits at the earliest.
Khan’s adviser on information Muhammad Ali Saif said the killers would be arrested soon.
