Senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) and former electoral candidate Maulana Khan Zeb was shot dead along with his police guard in a brazen attack by unidentified gunmen near the Khar headquarters in Bajaur on Thursday.

The attack also left three others injured, sparking widespread protests and unrest in the area.

The deadly ambush occurred at Shandai Mor, just steps away from the administrative centre of Khar Tehsil.

Maulana Khan Zeb, who also served as the central secretary of the ANP’s Ulema Wing, and his security detail Sher Zada were fatally shot by assailants who fled the scene.

Three other individuals travelling in the same vehicle — identified as Dr Tariq, Shah Sawar, and Usman — sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.

The killing triggered tension in Bajaur, where grief and anger among ANP supporters and local residents boiled over into protest.

In a display of mourning and defiance, demonstrators carried Maulana Khan Zeb’s coffin through the main bazaar in Khar in a protest march.

The protest turned violent when demonstrators stormed a local office of security forces and began pelting stones.

Security forces responded with tear gas shelling in an attempt to control the situation.

According to ANP leaders, Maulana Khan Zeb had been actively campaigning for a peace march scheduled for July 13 in Bajaur.

His assassination, they warned, could further destabilise the region’s fragile political and social fabric.

His funeral prayer is scheduled for Friday at 11am in his native village of Nawagai.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur strongly condemned the attack, terming it a heinous act of violence.

He has demanded a comprehensive report from law enforcement agencies and instructed immediate action to apprehend those responsible.

Expressing condolences to the bereaved families, the chief minister assured them of the government’s full support.

“We stand with the families in their time of grief,” he said.

He further emphasised that the perpetrators would be swiftly brought to justice and would not escape the rule of law.