By Emmanuel Kwada
A shocking incident has rocked the city of Peshawar, where a man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting dead the administrator of a community WhatsApp group. The motive? Being removed from the chat.
Mushtaq Ahmed was gunned down on Thursday evening, March 6, in the Regi Safed Sang area of Peshawar
According to police reports, Mushtaq Ahmed was gunned down on Thursday evening, March 6, in the Regi Safed Sang area of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—a province bordering Afghanistan known for its history of sectarian violence.
The suspect, identified only as Ashfaq, allegedly opened fire on Ahmed following a dispute that originated online.
The conflict reportedly began when Ahmed, the WhatsApp group admin, removed Ashfaq from the group after a heated argument. In a statement provided to AFP by Ahmed’s brother, the two had arranged a meeting to reconcile their differences.
Ashfaq was angry in reaction to removal from WhatsApp group
However, the encounter took a deadly turn when Ashfaq arrived armed with a gun and shot Ahmed, killing him on the spot. “Ashfaq was angry in reaction to removal from WhatsApp group,” the statement noted, highlighting the trivial yet fatal trigger behind the crime.
Police have charged Ashfaq with murder, supported by official documents and testimony from a local police official. The incident has sparked widespread outrage, both locally and online, with many questioning how a digital disagreement could escalate to such violence. The availability of firearms, combined with tribal customs and sometimes lax law enforcement in the region, has been cited as contributing to the frequency of such incidents.
This tragic event underscores the growing influence of social media in everyday life—and its potential to amplify personal grievances into real-world consequences. As investigations continue, authorities have yet to confirm whether Ashfaq has been apprehended.
