Pakistan cleric killed in mosque

A well-known Sunni religious scholar was killed inside a mosque Pakistan’s Gujrat district in Punjab. Muhammad Talha Raza, also known as Maulana Talha Rizvi, was at a mosque near Jamia Muhammadia Farooqia Rizvia in Shadiwal on Saturday evening when four armed men entered and shot him. This deliberate sectarian attack has raised fears about ongoing religious divisions that continue to cause violence in Pakistan.

One of the attackers shot the cleric in the legs and abdomen. The gunmen escaped on motorcycles while the scholar was left critically wounded. Rescue teams and local police took him quickly to Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital in Gujrat. Despite receiving medical treatment, he died from his injuries early Sunday. Before his death, Raza gave investigators a detailed statement that is now the basis of the murder case.

In his final statement, the cleric said the attack happened because of a fatwa he issued about a year earlier against the local prayer leader, Qari Aslam.

This edict criticised Aslam for leading funeral prayers for Asif Shah, a member of the Shia community in Shadiwal. Raza said this was un-Islamic, based on his understanding of religious law, and that it was not allowed to lead funeral prayers for a Shia. After that, he received repeated threats from people connected to the incident.

The suspects named are Qari Aslam, his son Rehan Aslam, Muhammad Usman, and Qasim Shah, who is the son of the late Asif Shah. Raza told police that Usman contacted him via WhatsApp from Dubai on August 20, warning of “dire consequences very soon”.

A murder case has been filed under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the four named suspects and several unidentified accomplices. According to available information, investigation teams have been formed, and on Saturday night, the District Police Officer of Gujrat, Faisal Shahzad, visited the hospital to review the case.