KARACHI: Unidentified gunmen shot dead here on Thursday the dean of Karachi University’s faculty of Islamic Studies.

Two gunmen riding a motorcycle fired on the car taking Dr Muhammad Shakeel Auj to a function at an Iranian cultural centre in the city, police said.

“A bullet pierced through his head, proving fatal,” senior police officer Pir Mohammad Shah told reporters.

“We are investigating the killing. It will be premature to state the motive at the moment.”

Dr Shakeel Auj had received threats following complaints that his teaching was too liberal, a colleague said.

The articles the 54-year-old had written were criticised by hardline Muslim scholars and some of his colleagues.

In 2012, Dr Auj had complained to police that four colleagues had threatened him and sent him text messages accusing him of blasphemy, said DSP Nasir Lodhi.

The crime is not defined by law, so anyone can file a case saying their religious feelings have been hurt.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2014