Pakistan: Religious scholar killed in Peshawar IED blast

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 16 (ANI): Religious scholar and founder of banned group Lashkar-i-Islam, Mufti Munir Shakir, was killed in a bomb blast on Saturday on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, ARY News reported citing police officials.

The incident occurred near the Ormur area, where an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated and injured four people, including Munir. He was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, officials said.

The CCPO stated that Mufti Munir Shakir was the target of the attack and that a search operation is currently active in the area, with the police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) teams investigating the case. Shakir was a prominent personality on social media and gained popularity due to his sermons.

Previously, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq (JUI-S) chief Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq was among the three who were killed in the suicide blast that ripped through Akora Khattak's Darul Uloom Haqqania in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, chief secretary and IG chief confirmed on Friday according to ARY.

Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq took over as the chief of JUI-S after his father, Maulana Samiul Haq, was assassinated in 2018 after being stabbed multiple times at his residence in Rawalpindi. According to the officials, the explosion happened inside the seminary after the Friday prayers.

The target of the attack at the Darul Uloom Haqqania, KP, was Maulana Hamidul Haq, ARY News reported citing Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed. He also confirmed the death of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami's head, Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq, to the reporters. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)