March 24, 2025
Staff Report
LAHORE
In a brazen and targeted attack, Qari Nizamuddin, a senior leader of the religio-political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), was gunned down by masked assailants late Friday night near Khattak Colony. The killing is the latest in a series of targeted assassinations against the party’s leaders and workers.
The deputy emir of JUI-F was returning home after leading taraweeh prayers at a local mosque, where he also ran a seminary, when he was shot and killed.
The incident comes after a February 2025 mosque attack that killed JUI-S (Sami-ul Haq Haqqani faction) leader Hamid ul Haq Haqqani. While the group calling themselves the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) have not claimed responsibility, their ideological differences with JUI-F make them a prime suspect.
Meanwhile, JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza from the Balochistan province shares his insights with Voicepk regarding the recent incidents.
“JUI has been targetted before, particularly around election times, while ANP has also been targeted,” he said. “I recall a suicide attack that claimed the lives of around 80 to 90 people. Similar attacks
have occurred in Quetta and Karachi, and now it is Attock. It appears that JUI is being pressured to yield, but we cannot pinpoint a specific reason for these attacks.”
Senator Murtaza emphasizes, “I do not believe this is an ideological war, as we have never challenged anyone’s ideology or targeted any other sects,” he says. “We’ve maintained our own stance without criticizing other parties. If we haven’t challenged anyone’s ideology, why are we being targeted and killed in the name of ideological differences? These questions remain unanswered.”
He notes, “Typically, organizations claiming responsibility for such incidents do so with pride, saying, ‘We’ve killed your people.’ However, in these cases, no one has taken responsibility.”
Referring to the killing of JUI-S leader Hamid ul Haq in a mosque attack in February, Murtaza dismissed the suspected reason, saying, “We support women’s education, and advocating for it isn’t the reason why Hamid ul Haq was killed. There might be other reasons, such as spreading terrorism or forcing JUI to comply.”
These incidents often occur around election times, resulting in losses and benefits for certain parties, he observes.
“The method of killing is consistent, suggesting a single group might be responsible. We’re being killed without reason. When murderers remain unidentified, it’s said that the government is responsible. So, the government should either reveal the perpetrators or take responsibility for these killings.”
Regarding the possible involvement of ISKP, Murtaza says, he is unsure if ISKP is responsible, as they typically claim responsibility for their attacks.
“They haven’t done so in this case,” he says. “Whoever is behind this appears to be targeting religious scholars, with no distinction between JUI-S or JUI-F. We’ve been targeted in elections before; retaliation may arise from suspicion, leading to chaos. These incidents might be intended to disrupt peace in the country.”
Journalist Nadeem Raza Khan sheds light on the recent developments in the investigation into Qari Nizamuddin’s target killing.
“The police have taken Qari Nizamuddin’s son into custody for questioning,” he reveals, acknowledging that the ISKP has ideological differences with JUI, but pointing out that there is a growing public perception that ‘institutions and powerful individuals involved in the Army Public School and recent train incidents are also behind these target killings.’
Khan further analyzes the motivations behind these incidents.
“The ultimate goal (of these incidents) is to create chaos, particularly in the wake of the 2024 elections, May 9, and February 26 events. The aim is to maintain power by spreading fear. While the reasons may vary, the common thread is the use of fear to control. Ironically, those in power are combating terrorism while maintaining their grip on power through fear.”
Iftikhar Firdous Founding Editor of The Khorasan Diary, an online news outlet, also sheds light on the situation.
“The JUI-F has been consistently targeted by the ISKP due to an ideological battle rooted in belief systems and power struggles. ISKP views JUI-F as the Taliban’s main political backbone, based on Deobandi belief systems, and targeting them is a symbolic gesture to amplify its power and cement its political foundation.”
Firdous notes that ISKP has not claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, adopting a strategy to create confusion.
“There are numerous incidents where the group directly involved hasn’t claimed the attacks,” he says.
On March 14, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) district emir Abdullah Nadeem along with three others sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded during Friday prayers at a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan. According to the police, Maulana Abdullah had been receiving death threats for quite some time and had survived an attack seven or eight months ago.
This ambiguity raises questions about the motivations behind these attacks. Beyond ISKP, Firdous points out that certain factions within the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have also hinted at targeting JUI-F. Recent messages and video statements from Jamatul Ahrar and the newly appointed Qazi of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have condemned JUI-F’s leadership for their stance against jihad in Pakistan and have rejected parliamentary politics. These developments suggest a complex web of ideological and power-driven motivations behind the targeted killings.