Taliban militants kill principal of govt high school in Pak

The principal of a state-run high school was killed by Taliban fighters in a region near Peshawar city of northwest Pakistan, according to a media report today.
Dozens of heavily armed militants entered the home of Haji Rehman at Pastawana in Frontier Region Peshawar last night and shot him.
Rehman died instantly, local residents were quoted as saying in a report on the website of The Express Tribune.
It was not clear why Rehman was targeted.
Local residents said he had developed differences with the militants and this led to his death.
"Probably he was considered pro-government by the militants and that was why he was killed in cold blood," said an elder who did not want to be identified.

This was the first incident in which a government servant other than personnel of the Khasadar and Levies militia has been targeted by the Taliban in Frontier Region Peshawar, a semi-autonomous area located a short distance from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

In December last year, hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked security check posts in Frontier Region Peshawar and kidnapped 22 security personnel.
They were later killed by the militants.
The security situation improved after security forces were deployed in the area two months before the May 11 general election.
However, the militants returned to the region when the security forces were withdrawn.

Many tribal elders have fled the area because of security concerns.