-Sindh govt bans pillion riding, COAS terms killing ‘an attempt to foment unrest’
-Maulana Dr Adil Khan buried at Farooqia University
-FM says conspiracies being hatched to destabilize Pakistan
From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Renowned religious scholar, Maulana Dr Adil Khan, and his driver, were shot dead on Saturday in Karachi’s Shah Faisal area in a suspected targeted attack by armed pillion riders, and various public figures have condemned the act.
The DG ISPR Twitter account expressed grief over the killing, and offered full support to the civil administration to catch the culprits, while Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa firmly condemned the assassination, and called it “an attempt to foment unrest by Pakistan’s enemies”.
Prime Minister Imran Khan described it as “an attempt by India to create sectarian conflict across the country”.
Similarly, President Arif Alvi said that “enemies of the country will not succeed in their nefarious designs against Pakistan and the killers will soon be brought to justice”, adding that the government has said for months that India is targeting “Aalims to create sectarian conflict across the country”.
According to police, the scholar had been in a parked Toyota Vigo outside Shama shopping centre when suspects on motorcycles came up to him and shot him.
A third person, Umair, had also been accompanying Maulana Adil, policed added, and he survived the incident as he had gone inside the shopping centre to buy sweets.
“The motorcyclists targeted him. It seems that he was being followed by terrorists,” said police officials.
In reaction to this assassination, there has been a month-long ban imposed on pillion riding by the Sindh government “in order to maintain law and order”, as per the suggestion of the city’s police chief. An official notification stated that Karachi police believe “miscreants and disgruntled elements may disturb the peace and create law and order problem in Karachi by carrying out target(ed) killings”.
Women, children under the age of 12, elderly people, law enforcement personnel in uniform, essential services workers and journalists carrying their press card will be exempted from the ban. In case of violation of the ban, station house officers have been given the authority to register complaints and take legal action.
Earlier, Funeral prayers of martyred religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan and his driver Maqsood were offered Sunday morning and he was laid to rest at Jamia Farooqia premises at the side of his father Maulana Saleemullah Khan. The funeral prayers were led by Ubaidullah Khalid, a brother of Maulana Adil Khan, who was gunned down by unidentified armed men in Karachi on Saturday evening.
Prominent religious scholars Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi, Maulana Rashid Mehmood Soomro, Mufti Taqi Usmani, Maulana Rafi Usmani, Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, Mufti Noman Naeem, other religious scholars, students and citizens were among hundreds of people who attended the funeral prayers of Maulana Adil.
Maulana Adil was the son of eminent religious scholar Saleemullah Khan and was the head of Jamia Farooqia, a renowned university of Islamic learning and related disciplines in Karachi. He will be laid to rest on the side of his father at Jamia Farooqia phase II.
