Backlash: Three-day mourning period in Parachinar

Tribal people gathered on Thursday to condemn the the killing of MWM cleric Allama Muhammad Nawaz Irfani

PARACHINAR:

Tribal elders have announced a three-day mourning period following the killing of Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) cleric Allama Muhammad Nawaz Irfani in Islamabad.

Tribal people gathered in Parachinar on Thursday to condemn the incident. They said all trade and business activities would remain suspended and shopkeepers will be asked to keep their stores closed. However, public transport from Parachinar to adjoining villages will not be suspended.

Elders held the government responsible for Irfani’s assassination as they insisted he had become more vulnerable to attacks once he shifted to Islamabad. Earlier on Wednesday, unidentified men gunned down Irfan in Sector E-11/4 in the federal capital.

According to the police, Irfani had gone to visit someone in the area when unidentified men riding motorcycles opened fire on him as he was heading back to his house located in G-11/2. He was accompanied by a guard and driver when the incident took place.

Following the shootout, Irfani was rushed to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where he succumbed to his injuries.

Irfani hailed from Gilgit-Baltistan and had lived in Parachinar for 14 years.

He settled in the Capital earlier this year after he was expelled from Kurram Agency under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) for alleged hate speech. Around the same time, some 60 tribal elders were also arrested under the FCR for supporting Irfani. Their privileges as elders were then revoked.

In August, tribesmen of Kurram Agency protested for weeks and demanded the leader be allowed to resume his role at Markazi Jamia Masjid. Moreover, they asked for the return of their elders who were arrested earlier, with their privileges intact.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2014.