Ulema council to protest Maulana Adil's killing in Karachi today

A protest against the murder of prominent religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan is being held in Karachi today after the 48-hour ultimatum to the police for the arrest of those responsible for the assassination lapsed.

Maulana Adil Khan, the administrator of Jamia Farooqia seminary, was gunned down along with his driver in Shah Faisal Colony on October 10. The attackers, on a motorcycle, opened fire at him and his driver Maqsood, fleeing the scene afterwards.

The call for the protest was earlier issued by the Karachi Ulema Committee (KUC), which had also called for a complete 'wheel-jam' strike in the metropolis. However, the KUC assured that the protest would be peaceful.

Reports from different areas said several shops were closed since morning and commuters faced a shortage of public transport. An increase in the presence of law enforcement personnel was also witnessed in different localities of the city.

The protest will be held in the areas of Nagan Chowrangi, Banaras Chowk, Lea Market, Qayyumabad among other areas.

Religious scholars had issued on Monday a 48-hour ultimatum to the police for the arrest of those responsible for the assassination of prominent cleric Maulana Dr Adil Khan. In the meanwhile, they religious scholar were to consult over a strategy for their future course of action in case the police fail to arrest the culprits. Wheel-jam strikes had been under their consideration. 

Besides being strongly condemned from religious quarters, Maulana Adil's killing also earned a severe condemnation from the president, prime minister as well as the army chief.

Prime Minister Imran Khan termed his assassination an Indian attempt at fanning sectarian hatred in the country. "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," the premier stated.  

Two days after the religious scholar's assassination, the police claimed to have found more footage that provided greater insight into the modus operandi of the attackers who murdered the prominent cleric.They said the evidence also suggests the involvement of two neighbouring countries in the incident.

The investigators also believe that the group which murdered Maulana Adil could have been the same one that tried to assassinate another religious scholar, Mufti Taqi Usmani, in March last year.

Police sources said the new footage had revealed that a man riding a motorcycle with a black helmet on was following the cleric’s vehicle. He has been identified as the same person who helped the other two men, who fired gunshots at the cleric’s vehicle, escape from the scene.

Maulana Adil’s vehicle was being followed after he left Darul Uloom Korangi at 7:20pm after offering Maghreb prayers. The attack took place at 7:40pm.

The ballistic report of the five bullet shells found at the crime scene has revealed that there was no previous record of the weapon used in the attack.