A powerful blast at a seminary-cum-mosque in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Peshawar district killed a senior cleric and injured three others on Saturday, marking another attack on religious institutions in the region within 24 hours.
Mufti Munir Shakir, the founder of the outlawed militant group Lashkar-i-Islam, succumbed to his injuries at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), hospital authorities confirmed. The explosion took place in Urmur Bala village, prompting a swift response from police, the Counter-Terrorism department, and bomb disposal teams, who are now investigating the scene.
Mohammad Asim, an LRH spokesman, confirmed the cleric’s passing, stating, “Mufti Shakir was brought to LRH in a critical condition and succumbed to his injuries.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s Advisor on Health, Ihtesham Ali, expressed his condolences, calling Shakir’s death a “martyrdom” and mourning the loss.
Lashkar-i-Islam’s past and Shakir’s rise
Mufti Munir Shakir was a controversial figure in Khyber tribal region, known for founding Lashkar-i-Islam in 2004. However, his extremist views and conflicts with another militant leader, Haji Namdar, led to his expulsion from Bara Qambarkhel within six months.
After continued internal strife, a tribal jirga forced both Shakir and Pir Saifur Rehman out of Bara in early 2005. The group later came under the leadership of Mangal Bagh, a former bus driver turned militant, who was elevated to amir in May 2005.
Pakistani security forces launched their first military operation against Lashkar-i-Islam in mid-2005, demolishing the house of Haji Rabat and destroying an FM radio station the group had set up inside a mosque.
Back-to-back attacks on mosques
The blast comes less than a day after another explosion at Maulana Abdul Aziz Mosque in South Waziristan on Friday. The attack, carried out using an improvised explosive device (IED), left Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) district chief Maulana Abdullah Nadeem and several others injured.
The province has witnessed repeated attacks on mosques, particularly during Friday prayers when large gatherings make them vulnerable.
Last month, a suicide blast at Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary killed six people, including JUI-S leader Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, and injured 15 others.
Balochistan train attack
The Pakistan Army on Friday said that 18 of the 26 hostages killed in the Balochistan Liberation Army’s recent ambush on a train were army and paramilitary soldiers.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, stated during a press conference with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti that militants executed all 26 hostages before the military operation began.
“The 26 hostages include 18 army and paramilitary soldiers, three other government officials and five civilians,” he confirmed.