In a shocking incident, Pakistani authorities arrested a man accused of fatally shooting the leader of a local WhatsApp community after being expelled from the group, local media reported. According to the police, the killing occurred on Thursday night in Peshawar, a city in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an area near the Afghan border notorious for its violent past.
The victim, Mushtaq Ahmed, was allegedly gunned down by a suspect identified only as Ashfaq, according to official police records obtained by AFP and corroborated by a regional law enforcement source. Mushtaq’s brother told AFP that the conflict began when Mushtaq, acting as the group's administrator, removed Ashfaq following a heated dispute.
The two later agreed to meet in person to settle their differences, but the encounter ended in tragedy when Ashfaq allegedly arrived armed and shot Mushtaq dead. In his statement, Ashfaq admitted that his rage was triggered by his expulsion from the chat. The region’s widespread access to guns, deep-rooted tribal traditions, and patchy enforcement of law often pave the way for such violent outbursts.
This isn’t the first such case reported in recent times. Earlier last November, a similar incident unfolded in Indonesia when a man stabbed his friend to death after being booted from a WhatsApp group. The victim, known only as Adrian, was found dead in Bandung, West Java, with three stab wounds-- one fatally piercing his heart-- according to local authorities. Police swiftly arrested the perpetrator, 36-year-old Toto Toyiban, in a neighbouring district after piecing together evidence from the scene.
The two had been part of a motorcycle-focused chat group called XTC Beer 188, as reported by Tribun Jabar. Trouble brewed when Toyiban posted a message that Adrian, the 29-year-old group admin, took as an insult, prompting him to eject Toyiban from the chat. Bandung police chief Kusworo Wibowo revealed that Toyiban confessed he was devastated by the exclusion, which drove him to confront Adrian. What began as a tense exchange spiralled into a deadly clash, with Toyiban using a blade he carried to strike his friend, police said.