Shia Zakir Navid Ashiq’s killing by ‘TLP worker’ in Sialkot sparks tensions
Islamabad: Killing of a Shia (Shiite) cleric inside an Imambargah in Sialkot has sparked tensions in several areas of Punjab.
The attacker was reportedly associated with Sunni group, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), according to journalist Sabookh Syed.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Sialkot Police said renowned Zakir and religious leader Navid Ashiq sustained serious injuries in the attack and he was shifted to a hospital where he died.
The statement said that heavy contingent of police were dispatched to the scene where officers, with the help of locals, rescued the attacker, Zeeshan alias Ismail, from an angry mob.
The police said that the suspect was in contact with Navid Ashiq and he had come to the event on the deceased’s invitation.
They said that the suspect had established a close contact with Ashiq by impersonating as one of his admirers and requested him to invite him to listen to his sermon.
The Sialkot Police said that Zakir Navid visited a village in Sialkot to take part in a religious event where the attacker shot him dead.
The police did not reveal the political or religious affiliation of the attacker.
