'Scholar' who helped ISI abduct Kulbhushan Jadhav from Iran shot dead in Balochistan

Mufti Shah Mir, accused of helping Pakistan's ISI in kidnapping Indian businessman and former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from Iran, was shot dead on Friday night by unidentified gunmen in Turbat, Balochistan.

Mir, known to be involved in human trafficking, was leaving the local mosque after Taraweeh (night) prayers when bikers ambushed him and shot him multiple times at point-blank range. According to a report in Dawn, Mir was immediately shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Mir, a human and arms trafficker, operated under the cover of a mufti (scholar) and was a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, an Islamic fundamentalist political party.

Mir had survived two attempts on his life last year
Sources said he was an important conduit linked with ISI-led death squads and played a significant role in the abduction and extrajudicial killing of numerous Baloch youths. He was also instrumental in spreading religious extremism in Balochistan.

In March 2016, Jadhav was abducted by a group led by Mullah Omar Irani of Jaish al-Adl from the Iran-Pakistan border and handed over to the Pakistan army through several intermediaries, including Mir. Irani was also killed, along with his two sons, in the same area (Turbat) in Nov 2020, allegedly by ISI.

Mir is also suspected to have been gunned down by ISI operatives in what is believed to be an internal conflict that has been brewing for some time. Last week, two others of JUI-F -- Wadera Ghulam Sarwar and Molvi Amanullah -- were shot dead by bike-borne assailants in what the local police described as targeted killings. The security guard of one also sustained bullet injuries. Mir had also survived two attempts on his life last year and had recently restricted his movements. "He was providing intelligence about Baloch fighters to the Pak army. In 2023, a teacher named Abdul Rauf was murdered over alleged blasphemy in Turbat. The killing was carried out on the instructions of Mir," a source informed.

Jadhav, who was running a business in Chabahar (Iran) after a premature retirement from the Navy, was abducted and incarcerated on false charges in Pakistan. He was intercepted in the Chaman area of Balochistan on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on March 3, 2016. In April 2017, a Pakistani military court sentenced Jadhav to death, charging him with involvement in espionage and sabotage activities. India condemned the verdict as a premeditated murder. The International Court of Justice stayed the execution while asking the Pakistan government to review the conviction process besides grant consular access to India.