Indian media has reported that Mufti Shah Mir, a religious scholar who allegedly helped facilitate the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, was killed in Turbat, Balochistan, on Friday.
According to police sources quoted by The News, armed assailants on motorcycles opened fire on Mir as he was leaving a mosque after completing his night prayer.
“Armed men riding motorcycles fired on Mufti Shah Mir, critically injuring him,” police stated, adding that he was immediately taken to the hospital in Turbat but later succumbed to his injuries.
Mir had ties to a religio-political party and had survived two previous assassination attempts. However, this time he was killed in the attack.
Indian media also reported that two other individuals associated with the same party—Wadera Ghulam Sarwar and Maulvi Amanullah—were killed last week by motorcycle-riding gunmen, with the police labeling these incidents as targeted killings. One of the victims’ security guards also sustained injuries in the attack.
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer working for India’s covert intelligence agency RAW, was arrested in Pakistan on March 3, 2016, for his involvement in orchestrating terrorism and insurgency in Balochistan. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a military court for espionage and subversive activities. However, the death sentence has not been carried out due to a stay issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
