CHARSADDA: Senior leaders of the Afghan Taliban government on Friday contacted Maulana Fazlur Rehman to express condolences over the killing of senior cleric Sheikh Idris in Charsadda.
According to the media cell of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid separately contacted Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
During the conversations, the Afghan leaders expressed deep sorrow over Sheikh Idris’s killing and offered prayers for the departed soul.
Sheikh Idris, a senior member of JUI-F, was shot dead by armed motorcyclists in the Utmanzai area of Charsadda on May 5 while travelling to a madrassah. The militant group Islamic State Khorasan Province later claimed responsibility for the attack, while initial findings suggested the killing had been planned in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Taliban leaders strongly condemned the assassination and said the people and leadership of Afghanistan equally shared the grief of the Pakistani people over the cleric’s death.
They also expressed solidarity with JUI-F and its student wing, saying they fully understood and shared the pain and suffering of the party and religious students.
The contacts came amid strong reactions from political and religious circles following Sheikh Idris’s killing, which has sparked condemnation and calls for protests by JUI-F leaders across the country.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad chapter of JUI-F staged a protest demonstration against the killing. The protest was led by JUI-F Islamabad emir Mufti Owais Aziz and attended by a large number of party leaders and workers.
Among those present were JUI-F central spokesperson Aslam Ghauri, Sindh deputy chief Qari Usman, Punjab deputy secretary general Maulana Saeed Sarwar, Rawalpindi chapter emir Dr Ziaur Rehman and Mufti Abdullah.
The protesters demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for Sheikh Idris’s killing.
Addressing the demonstrators, Aslam Ghauri said that until the killers were arrested, the present government would be considered responsible for the murder. He stated that JUI-F is a peaceful political party that has consistently advocated peace and stability.
Ghauri vowed that Sheikh Idris’s blood would not go in vain and alleged that no one’s life, property or honour was safe in Pakistan anymore. He also criticised the authorities, saying repeated failures by security institutions had become unbearable.
The protest comes amid growing anger within JUI-F over the killing, with the party announcing demonstrations in various parts of the country.