Pakistani police still don’t know the identity of those who murdered prominent Sunni leader Maulana Adil Khan in Karachi on Saturday.
The head of Jamia Farooqia was gunned down along with his driver in a targeted attack near a shopping mall.
Pakistani officials have blamed India for the killing, saying Delhi wants to ignite a sectarian war between Sunnis and Shias. Others have blamed “Shia armed groups for the crime,” but so far without evidence.
The maulana’s funeral prayer was held at Jamia Farooqia yesterday and was attended by a large number of people including leaders of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, Jamaat-i-Islami and many prominent religious scholars.
He was laid to rest near the grave of his father, Maulana Saleemullah Khan, who was the founder of Jamia Farooqia.
Counter Terrorism Department DIG Omar Shahid Hamid said all possible aspects of the incident were being looked into and nothing could be ruled out at this stage.
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“The assassination of Maulana Adil may be a conspiracy to trigger sectarian violence,” said CTD official Raja Umer Khattab while talking to the media on Saturday night.
He said that there were three attackers riding a motorbike and two of them alighted from the two-wheeler behind the Maulana’s vehicle while the third one rode to the opposite side of the road. The killers used a 9mm pistol for shooting.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has already pointed the finger at India over the killing.
He said in a tweet: “Condemnable targeted killing of Maulana Adil of Jamia Farooqi in Karachi this evening. My government has known and I have repeatedly stated this on TV, since last 3 months [that] India attempts to target kill Aalims from Sunni and Shia sects to create sectarian conflict across the country.”
The Prime Minister said that authorities have prevented a number of such attempts preemptively in the last few months.
“Our intelligence organisations and law enforcement agencies will nab culprits of this murder. Also, our ulema from all sects must ensure people do not fall prey to this nefarious Indian design to destabilise Pakistan,” he added.
