Prominent cleric and founder of the banned militant group Lashkar-i-Islam, Mufti Munir Shakir, succumbed to injuries sustained in a blast outside a mosque within the jurisdiction of the Armar police station in Peshawar.
According to the police, Mufti Shakir sustained injuries to his left foot in the explosion, along with three others, Khushhal, Abid, and Syed Nabi, who were also injured and rushed to Lady Reading Hospital for initial treatment.
Following the explosion, officers from the police, Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU), and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) swiftly arrived at the scene to begin the investigation and collect evidence.
In a statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Health Advisor, Ihtisham Ali, expressed deep sorrow over Mufti Munir Shakir’s martyrdom, calling it an irreparable loss.
“I was deeply saddened by the news of Mufti Shakir’s death. He was brought to Lady Reading Hospital in critical condition but could not survive his injuries,” Ali said.
The authorities are continuing their investigation into the cause and nature of the explosion as law enforcement agencies are actively working in the area to gather further details as they seek to uncover those responsible for the attack.
Mufti Munir Shakir, a cleric from Kurram Agency, came to settle in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in 2004 after being thrown out of his hometown for inciting sectarian hatred. His arrival in Khyber Agency went unnoticed at first.
He then launched a local radio station and again started gathering supporters under his hard-line interpretation of Islam. This time his target was a Barelvi religious scholar, Pir Saifur Rehman, who had migrated from Afghanistan in the 1980s and now lived in Khyber Agency, running a seminary.
After a series of violent clashes between the two groups, in 2006 a Jirga was convened which decided to expel both clerics. While Pir Saifur Rehman abided by the decision, Mufti Munir Shakir at first resisted the expulsion but was forced to leave by locals.
He made Mangal Bagh, then a local transporter, his successor in the armed militia which came to be known as Lashkar-e-Islam.
In 2008, the Bara-based militant group Lashkar-i-Islam was banned.
