Killing of Pak doctor part of Taliban war on educated

Mardan (Pakistan), Oct 9(ANI): The assassination of a Pakistan doctor is being seen as part of the Taliban campaign to wipe out educated Muslims in the country who speak out against the militants.

Dr. Farook Khan was shot and killed by Taliban in Mardan on October 2. He is now amongst the numerous Muslim scholars and professionals who have been killed in recent years by the Taliban.

Last year, Maulana Sarfaraz Naeemi, a moderate preacher, was killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the school where Naeemi had spoken out against jihadist ideology.

Another moderate preacher, Maulana Hassan Jan, was killed in Peshawar in 2007 after he denounced suicide bombings.

Ajmal Khan, a university official and a prominent personality in Peshawar, was kidnapped last month, allegedly by the Taliban, and has not been heard from since.

According to the New York Times, the extinction of enlightened religious thought is one more element in a long-term campaign by the Taliban to undermine the state.

"The government doesn't have the will or capacity to do much. It's unrealistic to expect them to do anything. This is not the first and the last of these kinds of killings," the newspaper quoted Rahimullah Yusufzai, a journalist, as saying.

"People are already scared of discussing the issues. Now they will be more scared," he added. (ANI)