GUJRAT: A renowned religious cleric has been shot dead by four unidentified armed suspects in a local mosque of Shadiwal town in Kunjah police precincts.

As per reports, Muhammad Talha Raza was present at the mosque, adjacent to the Jamia Muhammadia Farooqia Rizvia on Saturday evening, when unidentified armed men entered the mosque and one of them opened fire, leaving him critically injured. He sustained bullets on his legs and abdomen, whereas the armed suspects fled the scene on motorbikes.

Rescue and police officials reached the spot and shifted the injured cleric to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) in critical condition. He later succumbed to the bullet wounds early on Sunday morning.

Police initially registered a case against Qari Aslam, his son Rehan Aslam, Muhammad Usman and Qasim Shah and as many unidentified suspects based on the statement of the injured cleric.

The victim, in his statement to the police before succumbing to his injuries in the hospital, had alleged that he had issued a decree against a prayer leader Qari Aslam for leading the funeral prayers of one Asif Shah in Shadiwal around a year ago. Since the decree, he claimed that he had been receiving threats from the suspects. He said that he received the last threat on a WhatsApp call from Dubai on August 20, in which the caller warned him of dire consequences very soon.

Gujrat DPO Faisal Shahzad also visited the ABSTH to inquire about the injured cleric on Saturday night.

A Gujrat Police spokesperson said that Section 302 of the PPC had been inserted into the already lodged case and further investigations were underway. He said that the DPO had constituted teams to trace and arrest the suspects involved in the murder.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026