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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – A Pakistani Muslim spiritual leader, nicknamed the "father of the Taliban", was killed Friday night by an armed assailant with a knife who snuck into his room, officials said that would shake more inflammatory religious tensions in the country.
Maulana Sami ul-Haq, 81, had a decisive influence on the Taliban movement in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan and headed her own faction of a religious party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam.
"He was stabbed to death," said Fawad Chaudhry, the country's minister of information.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility and the circumstances of the murder were unusual. Mr. Haq was resting at his home in the city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to Islamabad, when he was stabbed.
According to police officials, an unidentified assailant entered the house while members of Mr. Haq's staff were in a nearby market. They claimed that the attacker had gone to Mr. Haq's room, stabbed him in the chest and on the shoulder several times and was gone.
The religious leader was rushed to the hospital when his staff returned, but the doctors said he had died as a result of a blood loss. The police arrested his driver and his personal assistant to interrogate them.
"We are not blaming anyone for the moment, but he was on the list of enemies of Islam," Syed Yousaf Shah, a senior official and spokesman for Haq's party, said by phone. "The motive of his assassination and its perpetrators is the subject of an investigation."
The assassination rocked Pakistan as the government struggled with protests from supporters of religion after the country's Supreme Court acquitted a Pakistani Christian accused of blasphemy, a capital crime here.
The government concluded a truce on Friday night with Islamist rulers enraged in the acquittal of the woman, Asia Bibi, in what appeared to be a victory for the religious right.
In return for the end of the protests, officials agreed to not oppose a further appeal of the acquittal and announced that they would take steps to prevent Ms. Bibi from leaving the country. Several Western countries offered him asylum.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, visiting China in search of financial aid, condemned the killing of Mr. ul-Haq, claiming that his country was now "deprived of a great religious scholar and of a renowned political leader ".
Khan ordered an immediate investigation into the killing, saying that Mr. Haq's religious and political contributions to Pakistan "would remain unforgettable".
Mr. Haq was conducting a seminar, Darul Uloom Haqqania, in the town of Akora Khattak, in northwestern Khyber-Pakhthunkhwa province. A large number of Taliban leaders attended the seminar, including Taliban founder Mullah Muhammad Omar. Mr. Haq boasted of these famous alumni.
The students had always hailed Mr. Haq as the "father of the Taliban". Mr. Haq was proud of the title and was quoted in the following terms: In the local tradition, a teacher is like a father, a spiritual leader.
"We strongly condemn the martyrdom of Mualana Sami ul-Haq, an Islamic ruler and jihadist," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Muhammad Khurrasni said Friday evening. "His death is a great loss for the entire Muslim nation."
Mr. Haq was politically active and served two terms as a senator during his long career. He was known to have good relations with the country's security establishment.
Last month, an Afghan delegation met with Mr. Haq and asked him to mediate in the Taliban peace talks. Haq agreed to play a role, but accused the United States and other international powers of obstructing peace efforts in Afghanistan.
Haq was a staunch supporter of the Afghan struggle against the Soviets in the 1980s and later supported the Taliban movement. He spoke of his anti-American convictions and said the presence of US troops in Afghanistan only prolonged the unrest.
According to analysts, Haq's assassination would affect Pakistan's domestic policies more than efforts to revive peace talks in Afghanistan.
His seminar, spread over several hectares, has received financial support from successive Pakistani governments. Mr. Khan, Prime Minister, often praised Haq for his support for the polio eradication campaign in North West Province and tribal areas.
Mr. Haq was one of the Pakistani Taliban representatives in 2014 when the government held peace talks with the militants. The talks finally failed and a military operation was launched against the militants.
