Pakistani "Taliban father" killed during an attack in a context of growing unrest

ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani cleric, known as "Taliban father," was stabbed and shot dead Friday at his home near Islamabad, said his family and associates.

The assassination of 82-year-old Maulana Sami ul-Haq by unknown assailants came amidst a series of violent national demonstrations organized by Muslim groups, angered by Wednesday's decision Supreme Court of Pakistan to acquit a charge of blasphemy.

It was not immediately clear whether the massacre was related to the unrest. But Haq's aides said he had tried to join the protests after the weekly services. He had gone home because the roads were blocked.

Angry protesters were seen on videos posted on social media that broke and burned cars on the highway between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Haq, a former senator, was at the head of a conservative Sunni Muslim party preaching opposition to the West. For several decades, he led a seminary in Peshawar, near the Afghan border, which trained hundreds of young men to join the Taliban forces in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

As news of the attack spread, Pakistani officials and religious leaders expressed their shock and sorrow after his death.

"I have a lot of respect for the Sami Maulana and his death represents a huge loss for Pakistan," said Maulana Fazl-Ur Rehman, a prominent Sunni religious politician at the head of another conservative Sunni party.

Pakistani Interior Minister Shehyar Afridi condemned the killing in a statement and said he "shared the suffering" of his family. He said that Haq's religious and political service in the country would be remembered for a long time.

The news also gave rise to a new wave of protests in the dark streets of Islamabad, where protests against the acquittal of Asia Bibi by the high court had erupted on Friday, as well as in other parts of the country. 39, other cities, for the third day in a row. At 8 pm, officials in the federal capital asked residents posted online to stay home because of the assassination.

Haq's eldest son, Maulana Hamid ul-Haq, told the Pakistani media that his father was suffering from heart problems and that he was in bed when the attackers arrived. He said that his father's bodyguard and driver had gone out at the time. He added that Haq was stabbed and probably shot. His body was taken to the Rawalpindi District Hospital.

Analysts warned that the killings could fuel the anti-government religious violence that raged in the country last week and potentially worsen sectarian tensions. Since the decision of the Supreme Court in the blasphemy case, thousands of protesters have blocked highways, burned tires and vehicles. They consider that the acquittal of Bibi is an insult to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

Some demonstrators and their leaders demanded the killing of Bibi. The peasant woman of about fifty years was accused of blasphemy after arguing with Muslim workers in a field in 2009. She was found guilty and sentenced to death. The High Court overturned these decisions, prompting some protesters to demand that the judges be killed and that the army rise to mutiny.

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