LAHORE: Funeral prayers were held Monday for prominent Shia scholar Allama Nasir Abbas, who was gunned down in Lahore the previous night.

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral prayers for Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqh Jafaria (TNFJ) leader.

The scholar was attacked when he was returning home after addressing a Majlis at Qaumi Markaz, Shah Jamal, in Shadman at around 11pm on Sunday.

He was taken to the Shaikh Zayed Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Model Town SP (Operations) Tariq Aziz quoted witnesses as saying that Allama Nasir Abbas and his student Hafiz Anjum were going to his Eden Value Homes residence near Thokar when assailants on motorcycles intercepted their car and opened fire.

The student and Abbas’s driver escaped unhurt, the SP said, adding that the gunmen escaped.

A preliminary post-mortem report revealed that Nasir Abbas had received five gun shots.

Soon after the incident, dozens of people gathered at the hospital and protested against the murder. Protesters raised slogans and blamed the Punjab government for the killing.

Protests were also held Monday outside the Governor’s House and incoming routes were blocked to obstruct traffic. A heavy contingent of police personnel was deployed on Mall Road for security.

Allama Nasir Abbas, 42, has left behind six daughters and a son.

The Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen, Tahafuz Azadari Council and Jafaria Alliance Pakistan have announced three days of mourning and demanded the immediate arrest of the killers.