Blast in Peshawar injures Lashkar-i-Islam founder Mufti Munir Shakir, three others

Four people, including prominent cleric Mufti Munir Shakir, were injured in a blast involving explosive materials within the jurisdiction of the Armar police station in Peshawer.

According to the police, Mufti Munir Shakir, the founder of the militant group Lashkar-i-Islam, sustained injuries to his left foot in the explosion. Other wounded individuals were identified as Khushhal, Abid, and Syed Nabi.

All the injured were immediately transferred to Lady Reading Hospital for initial medical treatment.

Following the explosion, police, along with officials from the Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), quickly arrived at the scene and began collecting evidence.

Law enforcement agencies are conducting investigations in the area, with further inquiries underway to determine the nature and cause of the blast.

Mufti Munir Shakir, a cleric from Kurram Agency, came to settle in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency in 2004 after being thrown out of his hometown for inciting sectarian hatred. His arrival in Khyber Agency went unnoticed at first.

He then launched a local radio station and again started gathering supporters under his hard-line interpretation of Islam. This time his target was a Barelvi religious scholar, Pir Saifur Rehman, who had migrated from Afghanistan in the 1980s and now lived in Khyber Agency, running a seminary.

After a series of violent clashes between the two groups, in 2006 a Jirga was convened which decided to expel both clerics. While Pir Saifur Rehman abided by the decision, Mufti Munir Shakir at first resisted the expulsion but was forced to leave by locals. He made Mangal Bagh, then a local transporter, his successor in the armed militia which came to be known as Lashkar-e-Islam.

In 2008, the Bara-based militant group Lashkar-i-Islam was banned.