Pakistani Nobel laureate's cousin gunned down

A prominent local leader of the Ahmadi community and a relative of Nobel laureate Abdus Salam was brutally gunned down in Pakistan's Nankana Sahib city on Thursday morning, the police said.

Malik Saleem Latif, who was also an advocate and a leader of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya group, was on his way to a court on a bike along with his son Advocate Farhan when "unidentified attackers" fired at them. Latif died on the spot, reported Dawn.

No application for the registration of an FIR has been filed so far, according to reports.

The murder has sparked an outrage among the Ahmadi community. Saleemuddin, a spokesman for the Ahmadi community, said that "Latif was killed because of his religious beliefs".

He said thhe incident shows that the ongoing military operations "Zarb-i-Azb" and "Raddul Fasad" are not being implemented the way they should be.

"Around 1,700 advertisements were published against the Ahmadiya community in local and national newspapers in 2016," said Saleemuddin.

"There is no check on hate mongering and if the situation remains the same, then the killing of Ahmadis will also continue," he added.

Saleemuddin said that community is battling discriminatory laws in the country and expressed frustration that hate mongers are enjoying the support of the government, the daily reported.

--IANS

soni/vt