Gunmen kill Maulana Mirajuddin

PESHAWAR: Unidentified gunmen killed Maulana Malik Mirajuddin, a leading Islamic cleric on Thursday.

Mirajuddin was gunned down in a pre-dawn attack in Tank, a volatile town bordering South Waziristan.

"Two men driving on a motorbike sprayed bullets on Maulana Mirajuddin as he was walking to his home after offering prayers in a nearby mosque," Niaz Mohammad Qureshi, an aide to Mirajuddin told Reuters.

A police official in Tank said Mirajuddin sustained serious wounds and died on his way to the hospital.

Neither Qureshi nor police officials commented on who could be behind Mirajuddin's murder. No one claimed responsibility for the killing.

Mirajuddin was a former member of the parliament and a senior member of the Jamiat-e-ulema-e-Islam.

He was known for helping make peace deals between the government and Taliban militants in the South Waziristan region, officials said.

Militants have killed hundreds of tribal elders and government officials in the region, many of whom were killed on suspicion of spying.

Mirajuddin was instrumental in a peace deal between the government and Taliban in 2005, and was also a senior member of a committee of tribal elders that brokered a ceasefire between the government and Baitullah Mehsud.