Religious scholar killed in explosion at supermarket in South Waziristan's Wana

LOW SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A religious scholar was killed in an explosion caused allegedly by a pressure bomb blast at a supermarket in Wana of Lower South Waziristan on Monday, police sources reported.

Speaking to Dawn, Wana Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asghar Ali Shah said that the blast took place on the ground floor of a supermarket situated in Rustam Bazaar.

According to him, Mufti Jana Mir Masti Khel suffered serious injuries in the blast and was rushed to Wana district headquarters hospital where he breathed his last.

He informed that he along with Wana City Police Station House Officer Usman Wazir and a heavy police force reached the scene of the incident after the blast and the area was cordoned off for investigation.

According to the DSP, their preliminary investigation pointed out that the pressure bomb was planted before time with the intent to target the religious scholar.

As he told, police have registered a first information report and investigation was going on to find out the culprits and the motive behind this act.

Apart from being a religious leader, Mufti Jana Mir made significant contribution in many national peace jirgas arranged after the military operation in different areas of Wana in 2004.

The most recent participation of the scholar was in Waziristan Peace Jirga wherein he made some very important suggestions to bring law and order and achieve sustainable peace in the region.

He was widely regarded as a respected religious and social figure who consistently advocated for regional and national interests and worked to promote lasting peace in the region.

Monday’s incident comes just three days after unidentified gunmen shot dead Maulana Ismail, a cleric affiliated with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), in Azam Warsak Bazaar of Lower South Waziristan’s Birmal tehsil.

On July 28, a local cleric was killed and two other people were injured in a suspected quadcopter attack near a mosque in the Landi Doag area of Birmal.

In January, JUI-F leader Maulana Sultan Muhammad Wazir was critically injured in a bomb blast near a madressah in South Waziristan’s Wana Bazaar area and later succumbed to his injuries.