PESHAWAR, Pakistan/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Muslim cleric Sami ul-Haq, known as the “Father of the Taliban” for having taught some of the Afghan Islamist movement’s leaders, was found killed on Friday in Pakistan, a relative and his deputy said.

FILE PHOTO: Maulana Sami-ul Haq, a Pakistani cleric and head of Darul Uloom Haqqania, an Islamic seminary and alma mater of several Taliban leaders, talks during an interview with Reuters at his house in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province September 14, 2013. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

Unknown attackers killed the cleric, who ran an Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan and was seen as a possible intermediary in talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, his deputy Yousaf Shah said.

There were conflicting reports of exactly how he was killed and why his bodyguard and driver were apparently not there to defend him at the time of the attack.

Shah initially said that Haq had been shot dead.

Haq’s nephew Mohammad Bilal told Reuters that his uncle was found with stabbing and gunshot wounds in a house he owns in an upscale area on Islamabad’s outskirts. “When the assailants entered his house ... They first started hitting Mullah Sami ul-Haq with knives and daggers and then shot him dead,” he said.

Further details remained unclear.

Haq has run the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghanistan border, for decades.

One of his students from the 1980s, known later as Mullah Mohammad Omar, went along with classmates to Afghanistan to join mujahideen groups fighting against the Soviet occupation of the country.

Mullah Omar went on to found the Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 after years of chaos and civil war following the Soviet military’s withdrawal.

“Recently, when the Afghan government sent him a delegation and sought his help in bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiation table, he offered them ... his madrassa (seminary) to sit with each other and build trust,” a member of Haq’s family told Reuters.

The ultra-conservative Taliban imposed an extreme version of Islamic sharia law on Afghanistan that included forbidding women to leave home without a male relative, imposing minimum lengths on men’s beards and banning sports, radio and television.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the “people of Afghanistan will never forget (Haq’s) services for them” and his killers were the “enemies of Islam”.

Haq’s seminary has continued to thrive in Pakistan, including being allocated funding in the budgets of the provincial government, which is headed by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Haq had emerged as one of Khan’s allies since the PTI came to power in the province after elections in 2013.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry confirmed Haq’s death in a statement on Friday evening and expressed its condolences.

A spokesman for the military condemned the “assassination” and expressed “grief and condolences” to his family.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets near the northwestern town of Mardan near Haq’s seminary, setting a highway toll station on fire.</s>RAWALPINDI: Jamiat Ulema Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq was assassinated at his residence in Rawalpindi on Friday, his family and party officials confirmed, saying that the senior religious scholar and former senator was "stabbed multiple times".



"He was trying to reach the protest in Islamabad but came back home due to roads being blocked. He was resting in his room after Asr [prayers] when his driver-cum-guard went out for 15 minutes," Haq's son Maulana Hamidul Haq said.



"When he returned, he found Maulana Samiul Haq dead in his bed and his body covered in blood."

Hamid added that his father had been "stabbed multiple times."

JUI-S leader Maulana Abdul Majeed said there was no one present at the residence when Haq was killed. "We do not know who attacked him. He was alone, the person who was supposed to be with him had gone to the market," Majeed said.



The body of the slain JUI-S chief has been transported to his native town Akora Khattak through an ambulance.

His funeral prayers will be held at Garrison Ground in Akora Khattak at 3pm on Saturday, Haq's nephew Maulana Luqmanul Haq told Geo News.

In this file photograph from August 23, 2017, Maulana Samiul Haq speaks during a news conference in Islamabad – AFP

Pakistan 'deprived of important religious leader'

Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the assassination of Maulana Samiul Haq, stating that the country had been deprived of an important religious leader. He said that Haq's services would always be remembered.

The prime minister sought a report and directed that an investigation be carried out immediately to find the perpetrators.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also denounced the assassination and sought a report from the Inspector General Punjab Police.



Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the martyrdom of the JUI-S chief and expressed immense grief over it.

"It was really sad to hear the news of the martyrdom of Maulana Samiul Haq," Nawaz said, praying the Almighty to have mercy on Pakistan.

The former premier also prayed for heightening of the stages of the departed soul in the hereafter and grant patience to the bereaved family.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa condemned Haq's assassination and expressed grief over it, DG ISPR Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said on Twitter.

The army chief also extended his condolences to the bereaved family.



Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that he graduated from Darul Uloom Haqqania and had a strong relationship with Maulana Samiul Haq.



"I have had a strong relationship with Maulana Samiul Haq, based on mutual respect," Fazl said, voicing solidarity with the family of the slain cleric and his party.

PM's aide on political affairs, Naeemul Haq, said Haq's martyrdom was a huge tragedy.



He said the government funded Haq's seminary for institutionalising modern curriculum, while the slain cleric had also backed the government for the anti-polio drive.

Who was Maulana Samiul Haq?

Born in 1936, Haq was one of the senior-most religio-political figures in Pakistan and came from the spiritual family of Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was the son of late Maulana Abdul Haq, a respected religious scholar and founder of the Darul Uloom Haqqania, one of the largest and most influential madrassas (seminaries) in the country. Maulana Samiul Haq later served the head of the Darul Uloom Haqqania after his father's death.

He was twice elected as member of the Senate of Pakistan—from 1985 to 1991 and again from 1991 to 1997.

According to the Senate website, Haq was an active protagonist of the Tahreek-i-Khatam-e-Nabowat in 1974 and Tahreek-i-Nizam-i-Mustafa in 1977.

"He was a member of the Majlis-i-Shoora in 1983-85 and was a member of the Presidential Committee on religious matters. He was elected to the Senate in 1985 and was one of the principal movers of the historic Shariat Bill in the Senate. He [was] re-elected as Senator in 1991 for another six-year term," reads the Senate website.

In 2014, the JUI-S chief headed a committee formed for peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The talks, despite repeated rounds, failed to yield results and the then Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government subsequently launched a crackdown on militants following terrorist attacks on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport and then the Army Public School in Peshawar later that year.

His party has been an ally of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The PTI also gave him ticket for the 2018 Senate election, but he could not be elected to the upper house.









This is a developing story and will be updated as further reports are received.





</s>Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, a Pakistani cleric known as the godfather of the terror group Taliban, was shot dead on Friday, a relative and his deputy told news agency Reuters. Local reports said he was killed in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Haq, 82, was a revered figure in Pakistan and Afghanistan whose views carried enormous weight among the Taliban on both sides of the border.

He had been aligned with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's ruling Tehreek-i-Insaf party for the July 25 elections, Dawn news reported.

Tucked away in a dusty Pakistani town off the main motorway to the Afghan border, his Darul Uloom Haqqania university was the launching pad for the Taliban in the 1990s and is still often described as the incubator for Islamist terrorists.

He was killed by unidentified attackers in a house where he was staying, his son was quoted as saying.

Some reports said he was stabbed.</s>ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) chief Maulana Sami ul Haq has been stabbed to death at his residence in Rawalpindi, family says.

Maulana Hami ul Haq, son of Maulana Sami ul Haq, said that his father was resting in his room when he was attacked with a knife.

"My father could not join the protest in Islamabad due to road blockage and returned to his house for rest," he said.

"His drive went out for half an hour and when he returned, he found Maulana lying in a pool of blood," he said.

Earlier, some reports suggested that gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on Sami ul Haq's vehicle and sped away. 



The JUI-S chief was being shifted to DHQ Hospital before he succumbed to his wounds.

Sources say that a security guard of the deceased cleric was critically wounded.

Speaking to Geo News, Maulana Haseem, a central leader of the JUI-S, confirmed the death of Maulana Sami ul Haq in the terrorist attack.

Maulana Sami ul Haq was the chancellor of Dar ul Uloom Haqqania based in Peshawar.



Senior journalist Salim Safi described the death of Maulana Sami ul Haq as a big tragedy for the country.

Maulana Sami ul Haq was member of the Senate of Pakistan from 1985 to 1991 and again from 1991 to 1997.</s>Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, known as the "Father of the Taliban" for having taught leaders of the terror group, was found killed on Friday in a Pakistani city, a relative and his deputy said.

Unknown attackers killed the cleric, who runs an Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan, his deputy Yousaf Shah said.

There were conflicting reports of exactly how he was killed and why his bodyguard and driver were apparently not there to defend him at the time of the attack.

Shah initially said that Haq had been shot dead.

Haq's nephew Mohammad Bilal told Reuters that his uncle was found with stabbing and gunshot wounds in a house he owns in an upscale area on Islamabad's outskirts. "When the assailants entered his house ... They first started hitting Mullah Sami ul-Haq with knives and daggers and then shot him dead," he said.

Haq has run the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghanistan border, for decades.

One of his students from the 1980s, known later as Mullah Mohammad Omar, went along with classmates to Afghanistan to join mujahideen groups fighting against the Soviet occupation of the country.

Mullah Omar went on to found the Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 after years of chaos and civil war following the Soviet military's withdrawal.

The ultra-conservative Taliban imposed an extreme version of Islamic sharia law on Afghanistan that included forbidding women to leave home without a male relative, imposing minimum lengths on men's beards and banning sports, radio and television.

Haq's seminary has continued to thrive in Pakistan, including being allocated funding in provincial government budgets.

Pakistan's Interior Ministry confirmed Haq's death in a statement on Friday evening, and expressed condolences.</s>Thousands of people attended the funeral of Maulana Sami ul-Haq, a prominent Pakistani cleric known as the “father of the Afghan Taliban,” in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Noshera on November 3.

Sami ul-Haq, 81, was killed in a knife attack at his home in the city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, on November 2.

The funeral was held under tight security and was also attended by the governor and the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, as well as leaders of political and religious parties.

Local TV channel Geo News quoted the cleric’s son, Hamid ul-Haq, as saying he was stabbed to death by unidentified attackers.

“My father was his on way to a sit-in protest in Islamabad. He returned to his house due to closure of roads and went to his bedroom. Later, he was found dead in pool of blood,” Hamid ul-Haq told Geo News.

Police say that the motive behind the killing was not immediately known and no group has so far claimed responsibly for the attack.

The killing prompted scores of Sami ul-Haq’s supporters to riot, damaging shops and vehicles in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The cleric’s family appealed to his followers to remain peaceful.

For decades, Sami ul-Haq ran an Islamic school — the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary — that educated several key Taliban leaders.

The madrasah is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan’s northwest.

One of his students from the 1980s, known later as Mullah Mohammad Omar, went on to found the Taliban, which seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 after years of chaos and civil war following the Soviet Union’s military withdrawal.

Sami ul-Haq was known as the father of the Afghan Taliban due to the immense influence and respect he enjoyed among the leaders of the militant group.

He was the head of his faction of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam party and was twice elected as member of the Senate, the upper house of Pakistan’s parliament.

Pakistani media reported that he had been aligned with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Party during for the July 25 elections, which the party won.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently on an official visit to Beijing, condemned the killing and ordered an investigation, his office said in a statement.

In recent weeks, dozens of Afghan clerics had appealed to Sami ul-Haq to use his influence with Afghanistan’s Taliban to help convince the militant group to begin peace negotiations.

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
• Sami ul Haq’s Death Met With Mixed Reaction – In Afghanistan, politicians, MPs and members of the public believe the assassination of Sami ul Haq, who was also known as the spiritual father of the Taliban, was a huge strike against insurgency.</s>Unidentified attackers have assassinated a key Pakistani cleric with close ties to the Afghan Taliban, officials and family said Friday.

Maulana Sami Ul-Haq was stabbed and shot by unknown killers in an attack at his home in central Punjab province in Pakistan.

He was chief of his own faction of the religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) party, and ran a madrassa that educated several prominent Taliban leaders.

Hamid Ul-Haq, the cleric's son and a former MP, confirmed the killing to private TV channel GEO, and said his father was stabbed by the attackers before they opened fire.

Maulana Yousuf Shah, a party spokesman, said unidentified attackers killed him in his residence and fled the scene.

Ul-Haq, who was in his 80s, was known as "Father of the Taliban". His Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania seminary educated Taliban stalwarts including Mullah Omar and Jalaluddin Haqqani.

Ul-Haq was in 2014 a member of the negotiating committee from the Pakistan homegrown Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- who brokered a ceasefire with the government, although the talks later failed.

He twice held roles as a member of Pakistan's Senate.

His JUI-S party was an ally of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan, currently on an official visit to Beijing, condemned the killing and ordered an investigation, his office said in a statement.</s>PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Muslim cleric Sami ul-Haq, known as the “Father of the Taliban” for having taught some of the Afghan Islamist movement’s leaders, was shot dead on Friday in a Pakistani city, a relative and his deputy said.

Unknown attackers shot the prominent cleric, who runs an Islamic school in northwestern Pakistan, his deputy Yousaf Sha and nephew said.

They said he was visiting the capital Islamabad this week, but further details of the shooting were unclear. Some local media said ul-Haq was in the neighboring city of Rawalpindi when he was shot and killed.</s>Officials: Top Pakistani cleric Maulana Samilul Haq, known as 'father of the Taliban,' killed in knife attack at home

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials: Top Pakistani cleric Maulana Samilul Haq, known as 'father of the Taliban,' killed in knife attack at home.</s>Maulana Samiul Haq, known as the godfather of Taliban, succumbed to injuries on late Friday evening after sustaining a gruesome knife attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The prominent religious scholar was reportedly killed in a targeted attack while he was resting in his room at his Bahria Town residence. The local police have launched an investigation into Haq’s assassination. The 82-year-old was the head of the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Akora Khattak.

According to Haq’s son, Hamidul Haq told media that his father was attacked while he was resting alone in his room as his driver Haqqani had gone out for some work. When the driver returned, he found Maulana Samiul Haq lying in a pool of blood with several stab marks all over his body, added Hamidul.

Maulana Sami’s lawyer also told media that the killer’s identity was known immediately after the killing and the police have launched a deep probe into the gruesome attack on one of the most prominent religious scholars of Pakistan.

Haq’s killing has come when religio-political parties in Pakistan are protesting on the streets against the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit Asia Bibi. Bibi was given a clean chit by the apex court in a long-standing blasphemy case.

Maulana Samiul Haq had recently aligned with Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) during Pakistan Assembly elections 2018. Haq had also served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan from 1985 to 1991 and again from 1991 to 1997.
Unknown attackers kill Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, a former Pakistani senator widely known as the "Father of the Taliban", at his residence in Rawalpindi.