Mufti Munir Shakir succumbs to injuries from Peshawar blast

Cleric Mufti Munir Shakir, the founder of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam, succumbed to injuries he received from a blast in Peshawar on Saturday, according to an official. A statement from the police spokesperson said the incident took place in the vicinity of Urmur Police Station and Mufti Shakir was injured on his left foot in the blast. It said the other three injured in the incident were Khushal, Abid and Syed Nabi. The statement added that personnel from the police, bomb disposal unit and Counter-Terrorism Department were present at the scene and evidence was being collected. In a video message, Mohammad Asim, a spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), said: “Mufti Shakir was brought to LRH in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries,” adding that the hospital was in the process of handing over the body to his heirs. Special Assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Health Ehtesham Ali issued a statement on the matter, saying he was “deeply saddened” to hear of the development. Lashkar-i-Islam – a Bara-based militant organisation in Khyber tribal region led by Mangal Bagh – was banned in 2008.