Senior JUI-F leader shot dead in northwest attack

A senior leader of Pakistan's Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) party was shot dead on Tuesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said.

Maulana Sheikh Muhammad Idrees, a prominent cleric and local JUI-F chief, was killed when unidentified gunmen on motorcycles ambushed his vehicle in the Uthmanzai area of Charsadda district. Two police officers assigned to protect him were also wounded.

How did it happen?

Maulana Sheikh Muhammad Idrees, a senior JUI-F cleric and former provincial assembly deputy speaker, was killed by gunmen who ambushed his vehicle as he travelled to his madrassa with a police security detail.

He sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died before reaching hospital. The attackers fled immediately and no group has claimed responsibility.

District police chief Muhammad Waqas confirmed the attack and said both wounded officers had been taken for treatment. The killing triggered protests in parts of Charsadda, where supporters and students of the cleric took to the streets. Local authorities urged calm as security forces launched a search operation.

Zulfiqar Hameed, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), took notice of the killing and directed the regional police officer to submit a detailed report on the incident. He also ordered swift action to ensure the early arrest of those responsible.

Describing Sheikh Idrees’s services as “unforgettable”, Hameed said his religious and national contributions, as well as his sacrifices, would be remembered by the nation.

What steps have authorities taken after the Charsadda attack?

Deputy Commissioner Azmat Ullah Wazir said the area had been cordoned off and efforts were under way to identify and arrest those responsible. "The perpetrators will be arrested and brought to justice," he said, appealing to residents to remain peaceful. Police said investigations were proceeding from multiple angles.

JUI-F, led by veteran cleric Fazlur Rehman, has previously been targeted by militants, including the Islamic State Khorasan Province, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group. Local sources said Idrees had recently faced criticism after publicly expressing support for army chief Asim Munir, and that authorities had issued threat alerts about his security in the days before the attack.

Who was Maulana Sheikh Muhammad Idrees?

Born in 1961, Idrees was a senior figure within JUI-F and the party's local leader in Charsadda. He also served as a former member and deputy speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly. In 2024, he travelled to Afghanistan with Fazlur Rehman to meet Afghan Taliban leaders as part of efforts to address cross-border security issues linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Idrees was the son-in-law of Maulana Sheikh Hassan Jan, a cleric who was assassinated in Peshawar in 2007. His killing is the latest in a series of targeted attacks against JUI-F figures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province that has seen persistent militant violence against religious and political leaders.