Crime & Justice

4 social workers murdered in tribal areas of Pakistan

Islamabad, Feb 22 (efe-epa).- Four social workers were shot dead on Monday in the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan, where they taught women craft jobs and financed small businesses to help families escape poverty.

The attack occurred early in the morning near the town of Mirali in North Waziristan, when armed men opened fire on the vehicle in which workers from the Sabawoon NGO were traveling, the spokesperson for the area commissioner, Younuas Khan, told EFE.

He added that four women were killed in the attack, while a fifth was injured.

The officer in charge of the investigation, Ismail Khan, told EFE that the nonprofit is involved in teaching handicraft to women in the area and also finances small businesses, which could be the reason for the murders.

However, he further said that currently they were not sure about the motive of the attack or the perpetrators.

“In the tribal areas, women are not allow to work outside their homes. We don’t know why these (people) were killed but this could a reason,” said Khan.

The nonprofit Human Rights Commission of Pakistan criticized the attacks and urged the government to take appropriate measures.

“The state must bring to book the perpetrators of this heinous crime,”the Commission said on Twitter, while also expressing concern about the reappearance of terrorist groups in the region.

Violence in tribal areas, and the rest of the country, had declined significantly since the start of military operations in these areas.

However, attacks by extremists in these remote regions have witnessed an increase in recent months. EFE-EPA

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