Senior cleric Mufti Munir Shakir killed, three injured in blast in Pakistan

Peshawar : A senior cleric was killed while three others injured in a blast at a seminary cum mosque in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday, less than 24 hours after a bomb exploded during Friday prayers at another mosque in the province.

Cleric Mufti Munir Shakir, the founder of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam, succumbed to his injuries, according to hospital authorities.

The blast occurred at the religious seminary in Urmur Bala village in Peshawar district, police said.

A police spokesperson said that personnel from police, bomb disposal unit and Counter-Terrorism Department were present at the scene and evidence was being collected.

In a video message, Mohammad Asim, a spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), said: “Mufti Shakir was brought to LRH in a critical condition and succumbed to his injuries.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the blast and sought a report on the incident from police officials and issued instructions for necessary measures to arrest those involved in the explosion.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Advisor on Health Ihtesham Ali expressed grief over the death of Mufti Munir Shakir.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the martyrdom of Mufti Munir Shakir. Mufti Munir Shakir succumbed to his injuries and attained martyrdom,” he said.

Lashkar-i-Islam — a Bara-based militant organisation in Khyber tribal region led by Mangal Bagh — was banned in 2008.

A local cleric in Bara, Mufti Shakir formed the Lashkar-i-Islam in December 2004.

However, the cleric was expelled from Bar Qambarkhel area after only six months owing to his extremist views and differences with Haji Namdar, another militant commander of the area.

Both Mufti Shakir and Pir Saifur Rehman were forced to leave Bara after a jirga (tribal council) of local elders gave a consensus verdict following bloody clashes between the supporters of the two in early 2005.

Mangal Bagh, a bus driver-turned-militant, was elevated to the position of amir (chief) of Lashkar-i-Islam in May 2005.

Pakistani security forces demolished the house of Haji Rabat and destroyed the FM radio station set up in a mosque after they started the first military operation against Lashkar-i-Islam in mid-2005.

On Friday, an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded at Maulana Abdul Aziz Mosque in South Waziristan, injuring Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) district chief Maulana Abdullah Nadeem among others.

Mosques, particularly during Friday prayers when large congregations gather, have been targeted in the province in the past as well.

Last month, six people, including JUI-S leader Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, were killed and 15 injured when a suicide blast ripped through the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in the province.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan army on Friday said that 18 of the 26 hostages killed by Balochistan Liberation Army militants, who ambushed a train in Balochistan a few days ago, were army and paramilitary soldiers.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, during a press conference with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, said 26 hostages were killed by the terrorists before the start of the army operation.

“The 26 hostages include 18 army and paramilitary soldiers, three other government officials and five civilians,” he said. — (PTI)