Pakistani religious father of Taliban killed in knife attack

Maulana Samiul Haq, a prominent Pakistani cleric, also known as the "father of the Taliban", was killed on Friday during a knife attack at his home in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, his family and police said.

Hamidul Haq, Haq's son, said his father was alone in his room when he was attacked by an badailant, who escaped without being detected.

"My father was martyred, he was alone at home, his guard was out a few minutes before the attack and on his return he saw my father in critical condition," he told reporters. .

Police said Haq, 81, was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.

Yousaf Shah, spokesman for Haq, told the Associated Press that neither the attacker nor his mobile were still known.

Shortly after his death, many supporters of Haq rebelled, damaging shops and vehicles in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Haq's family called on his followers to remain peaceful.

A renowned religious scholar among the many radical Islamists, Haq was at the head of his faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) party.

Haq was a renowned teacher who had a great influence on Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan, many of whose leaders and commanders studied a strict interpretation of Islam at his Haqqani seminary, earning him the title of "father of Taliban ".

Sirajuddin Haqqani, deputy chief of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terrorist organization, was one of dozens of Taliban leaders graduating from Haq Seminary, located in the conservative Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, on the Afghan border.

In recent weeks, dozens of Afghan clerics have called on Haq to use his influence with the Afghan Taliban to chart the path to peace that would end the 17-year war.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the killing of Haq.

"We lost a great scholar and religious leader today," Khan said in a statement released in China, where he is on an official visit.

Khan was widely criticized for adopting Haq ahead of the July elections in Pakistan, which brought into power the former cricketer turned politician. Khan's provincial government in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa donated millions of dollars to Haq Seminary. He defended the movement by saying that he wanted to see the thousands of madrbadas of Pakistan, or religious schools, expand their program.

Haq's funeral is scheduled for Saturday at Akora Khattak.