Maulana Samiul Haq's personal secretary arrested in Rawalpindi

Shah, a close aide of JUI-S chief, had gone missing from Nowshera following the assassination in November

Rawalpindi police have arrested Syed Ahmed Shah, the personal secretary of assassinated cleric Maulana Samiul Haq, saying he could prove to be an 'important' person in the ongoing murder probe.

Shah, a close aide of late Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) chief, had gone missing from Akora Khattak, Nowshera in November following the assassination.

Police sources said the suspect was arrested with the assistance of late Samiul Haq's relatives, and that he is now being interrogated.

On November 2, the prominent religious scholar was assassinated in a knife attack at his residence in Rawalpindi. He was 80.



Three months prior to the murder, the former senator suffered from a heart disease and was inactive.

In October, a high-profile delegation from Afghanistan sought help of Maulana Samiul Haq, known as the ‘Father of the Taliban’, to put an end to the 17-year-old deadly conflict in Afghanistan.

The cleric, however, had told the delegation that it was not easy for him to help resolve a complicated issue like the Afghan conflict, though he had said he wished to see an end to bloodshed in the country.

Maulana Samiul Haq was the founder of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of politico-religious parties, and leader of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council. He had been twice elected to the upper house of parliament.