QUETTA: Maulana Mohammad Qasim Sasoli, a prayer leader belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani group), was shot dead on Saryab Road on Friday. According to police, Maulana Qasim was on his way to Jamia Masjid Noorani to lead the Friday prayer when armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on him, killing him instantly. The killers managed to escape from the scene. The body was taken to Sandeman Hospital for an autopsy.
The killing sparked protest in Saryab area and people took to streets and burnt tyres to condemn it. Talking to reporters, JUP President Abdul Qudus Sasoli said it was not the first time that the JUP leaders were targeted.
Earlier, JUP leaders Iftikhar Habibi, Rafiq Sasoli and Maulana Kabir Qambrani had been killed in target killings. “The government and law-enforcing agencies have failed to protect life of common people in Quetta. No one is safe, whether a cleric, politician or a common man,” he told reporters, adding that the rulers must resign as they had failed to fulfil the basic obligation of the constitution.
He said that international players were involved in dirty games in Balochistan and local people were being used as tool for this purpose. The JUP announced a complete shutter down strike in Balochistan tomorrow (Sunday) to protest against the killing.