Wahab, a freelance writer, was shot by unidentified gunmen as he sat in a roadside shop in Manglawar Bazaar, near the resort town of Mingora in northwestern Pakistan. The shopkeeper and his young assistant also died in the attack.
Wahab, who lived in Mingora, had published several books in Urdu and Pashto that were critical of local religious leaders and Islamic militant organizations. Among Wahab's work was the book, Mullah Ka Kirdar (The Mullah's Role), which analyzed the Islamic clergy's involvement in politics. He had also completed a manuscript about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
Local journalists and human rights activists told CPJ that Wahab had received threats for years in connection with his journalism. The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that police took no evident action to apprehend the killers.