- Allama Nasir Abbas assassinated by two gunmen in Lahore
- Driver, personal assistant seriously injured
- ASWJ’s Shamsur Rehman Muavia was also killed in Lahore on Dec 6
Renowned Shia scholar Allama Nasir Abbas of Multan was gunned down by unidentified motorcyclists near the FC College underpass in Lahore on Sunday night, weeks after a senior provincial leader of the rival Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) Shamsur Rehman Muavia was killed in a drive by shooting in the Ring Road area of the city.
A senior police official told Pakistan Today that two armed men riding a motorcycle ambushed the Shia scholar’s car soon after he left a majlis in the Shah Jamal area. The gunmen fired indiscriminately at the vehicle, leaving Allama Abbas critically injured. He was rushed to Sheikh Zayed Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries after some time.
The Shia religious leader’s two aides, driver Munawar and personal assistant Ghulam Abbas also received bullet wounds and are reportedly in a serious condition.
The killing sparked severe resentment in the Shia community with the Tahafuz Azadari Council and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen announcing three-day mourning and demanding an immediate arrest of the scholar’s assassins and the conspirators.
Pakistan Ulema Council’s Allama Tahir Ashrafi also condemned Allama Abbas’s killing and demanded that the government arrest the killers as soon as possible.
A provincial intelligence official told Pakistan Today on condition of anonymity that they had been anticipating a spike in sectarian violence in the city after the killing of ASWJ’ Shamsur Rehman Muavia.
“Some anti-state powers are creating sectarian rifts across the country to further create divisions and anarchy in society. Law enforcement and security agencies are looking into the matter very seriously especially after the incident in Rawalpindi and subsequent incidents of sectarian killings and other violence in Karachi and Lahore,” he said.
The official said they had already warned the provincial government of reports that terrorists would increase their activities in major cities of Punjab.
On December 6, armed motorcyclists killed ASWJ Punjab president Shamsur Rehman Muavia near the Ring Road area.
The incident triggered countrywide protests by the ASWJ, which is known as the political face of the proscribed Sunni terrorist outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is accused of carrying out mass targeted killings of Shia political and religious leaders and bombings at Muharram gatherings, particularly in Balochistan.