KARACHI/LARKANA: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam–Fazl (JUI-F) organised demonstrations and sit-ins across Sindh as part of its nationwide protest against the recent assassination of its senior leader and renowned religious scholar Shaikhul Hadees Maulana Muhammad Idrees in Chars­adda, Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa, according to a press release issued by the party.

Maulana Idrees was shot dead on Tuesday by unknown assailants, who opened fire on the vehicle he was travelling by in the Tari­qabad area of Utmanzai, in the KP province.

Taking part in the Friday protest, a large number of JUI-F leaders, activists and supporters gathered outside the Karachi Press Club and raised slogans for the arrest of the killers.

Speaking to them, local JUI-F leaders strongly condemned the renowned cleric’s killing and demanded immediate action from the government and law enforcement agencies for the arrest of the culprits.

Participants condemn attacks on clerics, party leaders

The speakers said that Maulana Idrees was among the country’s most respected teachers of Hadith.

He had spent decades on educating thousands of students, they said. They described him as a symbol of knowledge, piety, sincerity, moderation and unity of Ummah.

The leaders said the late scholar dedicated his entire life to the promotion of religious education, training of youth and the moral reforms in society. They added that his death was not only an irreparable loss to religious circles, but also a big tragedy for the entire nation.

The JUI-F leaders observed that the assassination of Maulana Idrees reflected growing intolerance and in society and a surge in the activities of anti-peace elements in the country.

The leaders demanded a transparent investigation into the incident, and called for the arrest of and strict punishment to the killers.

They also urged the government to enforce strict measures for the safety of religious scholars, and security of seminaries and mosques.

In Larkana, JUI-F Larkana district chapter held a demonstration and sit-in outside the Jamia Islamia, on Dodai Road, after Juma prayers to condemn the terrorist attack.

The party district emir Maulana Nasir Mahmood Soomro, general secretary Mohabbat Ali Khuhro and others led the protest.

Maulana Nasir Soomro told the participants that Moulana that the killing of Maulana Idrees was not a first martyrdom within the JUI-F, but many senior party figures had been targeted by terrorists in the past as well, he said.

Maulana Soomro said his party demanded an end to terrorism and resolution of the country’s internal issues. He questioned why religious scholars were repeatedly being targeted. “JUI-F is in a state of protest across the entire country against this brutality,” he said, and demanded that the culprits must not only be arrested, but also taken to task through swift justice.

JUI-F activists and supporters held demonstrations and sit-ins outside different mosques after Juma prayers in many other cities and towns of Sindh to condemn the assassination of Maulana Idrees.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2026