JUI-F leader Maulana Sherzada shot dead in Orangi Town

Unidentified assailants gunned down a religious leader affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Karachi on Monday. Experts fear that this incident may be “part of a disturbing trend of assassinations of religious leaders and scholars across Pakistan”, with four such murders having been committed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in less than a month.

On Monday, unidentified men on a motorbike fatally shot Maulana Sherzada, a prominent figure in the JUI-F, in Khairabad, Orangi Town, when he was on his way to Jamia Masjid Muhammad Arabi to lead the Fajr prayer.

Police said the victim was a resident of Banaras Pathan Colony and the JUI-F deputy chief of UC-4 Mominabad Town. He was serving as the prayer leader at Altaf Nagar Masjid. He was shot once in the head, resulting in his immediate death.

A mobile phone was found on him, and investigations are under way to determine whether the motive was robbery or personal enmity. JUI-F spokesman Maulana Sami Swati slammed the killing, describing it as part of an “ongoing pattern” of violence against religious scholars. He told The News that Sherzada was a graduate of Jamia Uloom Islamia Binori Town.

“Maulana Sherzada’s martyrdom reflects the government’s failure to protect its citizens. Those responsible for targeting Ulema must be brought to justice. Is there any hope that the killers of scholars will ever face trial?”

Other JUI-F leaders, including Maulana Abdullah Bismil and Maulana Inamur Rehman Usmani, offered their condolences to the victim’s family. The JUI-F leadership urged the government to take swift action to arrest the culprits and to ensure the safety of religious figures.

Swati said the killing of a peaceful citizen like Sherzada is not just the death of an individual but a serious question mark on the entire government’s performance. Four other prominent religious figures have been assassinated in less than a month: Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani in Akora Khattak on February 28, Mufti Shah Mir Bazinjo in Turbat on March 8, Mufti Shakir in Peshawar on March 15, and Mufti Abdul Baqi Noorzai in Quetta on March 17.

While law enforcement agencies are treating these incidents as routine criminal cases, security experts warn of an increasing threat to Deobandi-affiliated religious figures, particularly leaders of the JUI-F and the JUI-Sami.

Experts further caution that the pattern of targeted killings may spread across the country, raising serious concerns about the safety of religious scholars nationwide, and in this situation, no possibility can be completely ruled out.

West Zone police chief DIG Irfan Baloch told The News that while Sherzada was not a highly prominent religious figure, police are taking the JUI-F’s concerns seriously and are trying to verify their claims.