Shia cleric injured, wife killed in gun attack

Armed assailants attacked a Shia cleric in Bani Gala area of Islamabad late Saturday night, killing his wife and injuring him, police said.

Armed assailants attacked a Shia cleric in Bani Gala area of Islamabad late Saturday night, killing his wife and injuring him, police said.

Three armed men entered the house of Sagheer Ahmed Saifi at around 10:30pm and opened fire killing his wife Sobia Saifi and injuring the cleric, the police said.

“Apparently, it seems to be a sectarian attack but it has yet to be ascertained,” Talib Moula, one of the investigation officers of the Bani Gala police station told The Express Tribune.

 The police, however, are looking into all aspects of the incident, he added.

A dispute over possession of a seminary land where the cleric served as an imam and a teacher could be the motive behind the attack, the police said.

Luckily, the scholar’s five children remained safe during the attack.