BAHAWALPUR:
Unidentified people killed a religious scholar and injured another one in two separate attacks in Rahim Yar Khan.
Imam Hafiz Muhammad Ahmad of Jamia Madni in Akhtarabad near Rahim Yar Khan was riding his motorcycle to the mosque on Thursday to lead the morning prayers when he was attacked near Doaba Puli.
“The assailants stopped and then shot him, killing him on the spot,” police said. The family of the deceased took his body to the hospital.
Jamiat Ulma-i-Islam’s (JUI-F) local leaders called Ahmad’s murder a target killing and held the local administration responsible for his death.
Addressing the participants of Ahmad’s funeral, JUI-F district information secretary Mualana Muhammad Hassan Rehmani said that religious scholars were being targetted under a conspiracy.
He gave the district administration 48 hours to arrest Ahmad’s killers, saying the JUI-F activists will block all major roads if they were not arrested.
Noor Ahmad, brother-in-law of the deceased, told police that Ahmad had a dispute with his brothers and other relatives over some property.
Separately, three unidentified gunmen shot and injured a Shia leader late on Wednesday.
According to police, Muhammad Ali, a resident of Mulazim Hussain Shah, Rahim Yar Khan, was called out of his home and shot. “When he came out, they shot him and then fled,” police said.
Ali was taken to a hospital in Rahim Yar Khan by his family. Doctors treating him said he was in a critical condition.
The district administration has put security on high alert throughout the district and deployed a police contingent at the hospital to deal with any emergency situation.
In yet another incident, Qamar Abbas, a resident of Khan Bela, filed a complaint with police, stating that unidentified miscreants had tried to set an imam bargah on fire.
Police have registered a case against unidentified persons and searching for the suspects.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2014.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Please define Religious Scholar and Religious Leader.