Renowned Islamic scholar and the chancellor of Jamia Binoria Town Maulana Dr Abdul Razzaq Iskander passed away in Karachi on Wednesday after protracted illness. He was 86.

Sami Swati, a religious scholar and spokesperson of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Sindh, told Dawn.com that the long-time head of the famous Karachi seminary located near Guru Mandir was on a wheelchair for the last one-and-a-half years.

He was suffering from breathing problems and was admitted to the Indus Hospital, where he was put on ventilator a week ago and passed away. He left behind two sons who are both religious scholars.

Maulana Iskander's funeral prayers will be held at Jamia Binoria Town on Wednesday night. He will be laid to rest in the seminary's premises near the grave of its founder, Maulana Yousuf Binori.

Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa expressed condolences on the scholar's demise. "May Allah bless his soul and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss," he was quoted as saying by the ISPR.

According to Swati, the late scholar was born in Kakul, Abbottabad, in 1935. He received his early education from Darul Uloom Karachi when its campus was located in Nanak Wara of Lyari.

Besides studying at Jamia Binoria, he obtained further education from Jamia Islamia of Madina in Saudi Arabia and Al-Azhar University of Egypt. In 1997, he became the chancellor of Jamia Binoria after the assassination of Dr Habibullah Mukhtar and remained in the same post till his death.

He was directly and indirectly the teacher of hundreds of thousands of students and scholars. He also took part in various movement including the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA).

Iskander was also the chief of Almi Majlis Tahafuz Khatm-i-Nabuwat and the central president of Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan.

He was the author of 18 books on different subjects, said Sami. After hearing the news of his demise, hundreds of people gathered at the seminary in Binoria Town.