Federal minister Mufti Shakoor dies in road accident

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor passed away in a road accident in the federal capital, the capital police said on Saturday. Shakoor left the Marriott Hotel at about 8 pm in his staff car GAK-550-ICT after attending an Iftar dinner and was heading towards the Secretariat Chowk when a speedy Hilux Revo rammed into his car. Mufti Abdus Shakoor got stuck in the wrecked car.

In a statement, the capital police said the minister was driving the car himself when a Toyota Hilux Revo — with five people onboard — smashed his vehicle at the driver’s side. The federal minister was shifted to the Polyclinic in the federal capital, but due to severe internal bleeding, he succumbed to his wounds, the police said.

People engaged in the investigation of the case said that four persons – Ghulam Shabbir, Mohammad Rizwan, Zahir Shah and Arshad Khan – were riding in the Revo while Gul Khan was driving the Hilux Revo bearing registration number ARY-077-ICT, which hit the minister’s car.

Senior police officers arrived at the scene of the accident and the people in the vehicle that smashed the federal minister’s car have been arrested. Two of the five men were injured. Islamabad Inspector-General Dr Akbar Nasir Khan, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, and other federal ministers also reached the hospital where Shakoor breathed his last.

In his condolence statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Shakoor was a “practical scholar, an ideological political activist and a decent human being”.

PM Shehbaz said the deceased federal minister was among Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s ideological leaders.

“Mufti Abdul Shakoor performed his duties with diligence, sincerity and honesty as Minister of Religious Affairs,” the premier said, paying glaring tribute to him.