LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A cleric affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Maulana Muhammad Ismail, was shot dead by unidentified armed men in the Azam Warsak area of Birmal tehsil in Lower South Waziristan, it emerged on Saturday.

District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Tahir said that the incident occurred after Friday prayers when unidentified assailants on a motorcycle opened fire on Ismail, killing him on the spot. The official said the assailants managed to escape from the scene.

The DPO said that an initial report of the incident had been registered and an investigation into the killing had been launched. He added that police were examining the incident from all angles.

According to police officials and local tribal elders, the deceased was a resident of Kazha Panga and was serving as a teacher at a religious seminary in the area.

In May, renowned cleric and former JUI-F MPA Maulana Muhammad Idrees was killed in Charsadda after unidentified assailants opened fire on him.

In January, JUI-F leader Maulana Sultan Muhammad Wazir succumbed to his injuries after being critically wounded in a bomb blast near a madressah in South Waziristan’s Wana bazaar area.