Religious scholar gunned down in Charsadda

CHARSADDA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a renowned religious scholar and administrator of Darul Uloom Jamia Muhammadia, Maulana Haq Nawaz, in Matta Mughalkhel village on Wednesday.

It was learnt that the assailants targeted the 50-year-old Maulana Haq Nawaz, who was referred to as Sheikhul Hadith because of his expertise in teaching the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), when he was on way to mosque to offer the morning Fajr prayer in Matta Mughalkhel. “Maulana Haq died on the spot and the accused managed to escape,” said a villager.

The incident left the residents of Matta Mughalkhel in shock and they spontaneously came out of their houses and blocked various roads in Charsadda district to protest the gruesome incident. The protest disrupted the flow of traffic.

The funeral prayer for the slain religious scholar, who was associated with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), offered in Matta Mughalkhel and he was laid to rest in the village graveyard. People from various walks of life attended the last rites for the deceased.

Maulana Haq Nawaz was widely respected in the religious circles for his knowledge. The clerics and common people were all shocked after learning about his murder.

MNA Maulana Gohar Shah, who belongs to the JUI-F, expressed grief over the incident and termed it a great loss to Islam and the people.

He said that they cannot remain silent over the cowardly act, alleging that seminaries and religious scholars were being targetted under a conspiracy. He said that his party, JUI-F, would not hesitate from rendering any sacrifice to foil the evil designs of anti-Islam forces. He said that the services of Maulana Haq Nawaz for Islam would always be remembered.

He asked the government and police high-ups to take serious notice of the incident and expose the real culprits involved in the murder or else the JUI-F would launch a protest campaign.