Prominent Pakistani cleric Maulana Muhammad Idrees, who was reportedly involved in peace negotiations with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was shot dead on Tuesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to reports, two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on Idrees while he was travelling to Darul Uloom Utmanzai in Charsadda district. The cleric died on the spot.
The attack was later claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has been linked to several recent attacks in Pakistan.
Idrees was associated with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and had earlier served as a provincial lawmaker from Charsadda.
The killing comes amid a wave of targeted attacks against JUI-F leaders and workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, raising fresh concerns over deteriorating security conditions in the region.
The incident has also renewed attention on Idrees’s reported past differences with Asim Munir, who currently serves as Pakistan’s army chief.
