Gunmen kill anti-Taleban writer

A strict Islamic code applies in the author's province

Paul Anderson BBC correspondent in Islamabad

Police in northern Pakistan say unidentified attackers have shot dead a writer whose work was viewed as critical of fundamentalist Islam.

The 40-year-old writer, Fazal Wahab, was shot at a local shop.

Fatwas, or religious edicts, declaring his work un-Islamic had been issued by senior clerical figures after the publication of two books challenging the role of mullahs.

Police say three or four gunmen burst into the shop in the town of Mingora, in North-West Frontier Province, where Mr Wahab was sitting.

Asylum bid

The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately, killing Mr Wahab and the shop owner on the spot.

The attack will be a test of the mullahs' power

A teenage shop assistant died on his way to hospital.

Police established checkpoints quickly but have so far made no arrests.

Two of Mr Wahab's books were critical of the Taleban, the role of the mullahs and Osama bin Laden.

It is not clear whether the fatwas called for his death.

Mr Wahab, who was married with five children, called a press conference last month to say he was receiving death threats.

He was reported to have applied for a visa to the United States, with a view to seeking political asylum, but this was rejected.

He was not well-known nationally, but locally was engaged in a hostile debate with Islamic leaders through his writings.

Strong message

After provincial and national elections last year, North-West Frontier Province came under the control of an alliance of religious parties.

The provincial government has begun imposing strict interpretations of the Islamic code - much as the Taleban did in Afghanistan - on dress, women's freedom of movement and public entertainment.

The attack will be an early test of the new government's future intentions; whether to pursue the attackers or allow the killings to go unpunished.

The latter would send a strong message to clerical leaders that they have broad freedom to operate as they wish.