Gunmen on motorbikes stopped Sardar Soran Singh’s car in Buner district, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Peshawar, Friday evening and opened fire, killing him on the spot.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing of Singh, who was minority affairs minister for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“These activities will continue until implementation of Islamic system in Pakistan,” Muhammad Khurasani, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said in an emailed statement late Friday.
Singh’s murder was widely condemned by his fellow lawmakers and rights activists.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose Pakistan-Tehreek Insaf (PTI) party rules the restive northwestern province, urged his government to set up an inquiry commission.
“Shocked at murder of PTI’s KP MPA & Minorities Minister Sooran Singh. KP govt must immediately set up inquiry. A great loss for all of us,” Khan tweeted.
“When will Pakistan stop targeting minorities?” Twitter user Saqeena Qasim said.
Others expressed similar views.
In 2011, the Pakistani Taliban shot dead a Christian minorities minister in Islamabad.
