November 19, 2007	Monday	Ziqa’ad 08, 1428

FAISALABAD, Nov 18: A local cleric, who suffered grievous injuries in an assault by rivals the other day, breathed his last on Sunday. The family had just lost their son during the intrusion by some gangsters.

Shocked beyond measure, the family and relatives of Maulvi Muhammad Ismail were still mourning the death of his son Mukhtar Ahmad when they heard the news of his (Ismail’s) passing away. Another son of the late cleric is fighting for life in hospital.

Some men, armed to the teeth, stormed Maulvi Ismail’s house at Awami Colony on Thursday last and opened indiscriminate fire. As a result, six people, including Ismail’s father and two sons, Mukhtar and Gulzar, suffered injuries. The intruders also clubbed Ismail and the women, and ransacked the house before escaping.

The injured were shifted to the Allied Hospital where Mukhtar breathed his last and the condition of Gulzar and Ismail was reported critical. Mukhtar had tied the knot hardly three weeks ago.

The ill-fated family’s next-of-kin and neighbours (some of them eyewitnesses) blamed the police for failing to act promptly which allowed the intruders to spill the blood.

Muhammad Ismail, a known figure in the locality, is survived by a wife, four sons and a daughter. Hundreds of tearful eyes attended the funeral prayers of Ismail and the people ripped to shreds the police for failing to protect the life and property of the people.

Speaking to Dawn, a member of the cleric’s family sobbed out the trying ordeal and said life had become a hell for his mourners. He said the police were the culprits as the family had repeatedly informed them about the threats the accused were hurling at them.

He appealed to the police higher-ups to look into the matter and bring the culprits to book. Mumtaz Ahmad, a son of Ismail, said the condition of his brother Nari was critical and they had not informed him about his father’s death. He said his mother was in shock.