Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa strongly condemned the assassination of renowned religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan in Karachi, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.
The military's media wing said that General Qamar termed the incident an attempt to foment unrest by Pakistan’s enemies.
He directed all-out support to civil administration to bring the criminals to justice.
Expressing grief on assassination of renowned religious scholar Maulana Adil in Karachi, #COAS strongly condemned the incident and termed it an attempt to foment unrest by Pakistan’s enemies. COAS directed all out support to civil administration to bring the criminals to justice.
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) October 10, 2020
Maulana Adil, along with his driver, was gunned down in Shah Faisal Colony in Karachi. The slain scholar was associated with Jamia Farooqia, a university of Islamic studies.
According to Express News, unidentified assailants on a motorbike opened fire on Maulana Adil’s car, which resulted in the death of the cleric and his driver, identified as Maqsood, on the spot.
The bodies were shifted to a private hospital whose spokesperson Dr Anjum Rizvi said the cleric had suffered two bullet wounds.
After the incident, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that for the last three months, India has been attempting to target religious scholars from both Sunni and Shia sects to create sectarian conflict across the country.
"Condemnable targeted killing of Maulana Adil of Jamia Farooqia in Karachi this evening. My govt has known & I have repeatedly stated this on TV, since last 3 months India's attempts to target kill Aalims from Sunni & Shia sects to create sectarian conflict across the country," the premier wrote on his official Twitter handle hours after the tragic incident.
He said that the government has prevented a number of such attempts pre-emptively in last few months.
"Our intelligence orgs & law enforcement agencies will nab culprits of this murder also. Our ulema from all sects must ensure people do not fall prey to this nefarious Indian design to destabilise Pak," PM Imran said in another tweet.
Condemnable targeted killing of Maulana Adil of Jamia Farooqia in Karachi this evening. My govt has known & I have repeatedly stated this on TV, since last 3 months India's attempts to target kill Aalims from Sunni & Shia sects to create sectarian conflict across the country. pic.twitter.com/HbhJ0o16zB
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 10, 2020
People from all walks of life including politicians, religious scholars, celebrities and other condemned the killing, terming it an attempt to disrupt law and order of the city, which has a bloody history of sectarian conflicts.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah taking notice of the incident, directed police officials to ensure the arrest of culprits at the earliest.
He said that some miscreants were trying to sabotage the law and order of the provincial capital. Meanwhile, Sindh police chief Mushtaq Mehr has submitted a preliminary report of the incident to the chief minister.
According to the report, a double cabin car stopped near a Shama Shopping Centre situated in Shah Faisal area for shopping when two armed motorcyclists targeted the vehicle and fled the crime scene unchallenged.
However, Maulana’s aide Umair who went for the shopping remained unhurt in the attack.
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