Blake Preston-Thousands of mourners in Islamabad attend funeral for Pakistani cleric gunned down in broad daylight

2025-05-07 06:43:16source:Coxnocategory:Contact

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of mourners attended a funeral Saturday for a Pakistani Sunni Muslim cleric gunned down in broad daylight on Blake Prestonthe outskirts of the capital, Islamabad, police and a spokesman for the cleric’s organization said.

The funeral of Masoodur Rehman Usmani was held a day after unidentified gunmen shot and killed him and wounded his driver in the neighborhood of Ghauri Town, according to a statement from Islamabad police.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, which is a rare occurrence in this part of Pakistan. Police said they were using closed-circuit TV footage to track down the assailants, and vowed that they would be arrested and brought to justice.

Authorities in Islamabad have stepped up security by deploying additional police and some embassies were advising their nationals to avoid visiting the area where the funeral for Usmani was to be held.

Other news Pakistani police free 290 Baloch activists arrested while protesting extrajudicial killingsPakistan arrests activists to stop them from protesting in Islamabad against extrajudicial killingsSeparatist leader in Pakistan appears before cameras and says he has surrendered with 70 followers

Usmani was a deputy secretary at the Sunni Ulema Council, which emerged after Pakistan outlawed the Sipah-e-Sahaba extremist group, which has been accused of killing thousands of Shiites in recent decades across the country.

Sunni clerics in their speeches at the funeral asked the government to ensure the arrest of those responsible for Usmani’s killing. Top cleric Ahmed Ludhianvi threatened a sit-in in Islamabad if they were not arrested within the week.

The funeral was livestreamed on social media by organizers, who wanted to hold the event outside parliament. But police refused their request, and the event was instead held in a busy commercial area in Islamabad.

Pakistan has suffered frequent sectarian violence between the majority Sunni and minority Shiite groups, but authorities say it is still unclear who was behind the killing, although mourners were seen chanting slogans against Shiites and neighboring Iran, which is often accused by Sunni groups of backing Shiite organizations in Pakistan.

Most Sunnis and Shiites live together peacefully in Pakistan, though tensions have existed for decades.

More:Contact

Recommend

Video shows dog chewing cellphone battery pack, igniting fire in Oklahoma home

A video shows a house fire in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ignited after a dog nibbled on a cell phone battery p

Trump will campaign in Minnesota after attending his son Barron’s graduation

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will head to Minnesota on a day off from his hu

'Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal' on Netflix shows affairs are common. Why do people cheat?

"Life is short. Have an affair."That's the infamous tagline of the website Ashley Madison, a dating