Thousands bid farewell to Maulana Sami-ul-Haq

KARACHI: Thousands turned out on Saturday to attend the funeral prayers of Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, a pro-Taliban cleric who was stabbed to death at his Rawalpindi residence a day earlier.
The funeral, where a majority of the attendees were students from Islamic seminaries, was held in Haq’s hometown of Akora Khattak, and lead by his son, Maulana Hamid-ul-Haq.
Influential religious scholars, senators and political leaders were also part of the congregation that had amassed to pay their last respects to the popular leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S). Haq was laid to rest besides the grave of his father, Maulana Abdul Haq.
“Based on the intelligence, we have gathered, over fifty thousand attended the funeral,” district police chief Mansoor Aman, told Arab News, adding that strict security measures were in place to avoid any untoward incidents.
Earlier in the day, the JUI-S elected Haq’s brother Maulana Anwar-ul-Haq as the party’s administrator, while his son, Hamid-ul Haq, was appointed as the deputy administrator of Darul Uloom Haqqania, the seminary which Haq headed and referred to as “a nursery of the Taliban”.
In Rawalpindi, police officer Muhammad Jameel told Arab News that the FIR has been lodged against unknown assailants whereas several teams wee investigating the high-profile case.
“The investigations are underway. We are interrogating different people including the domestic staff. Anything can be shared upon the conclusion of investigations,” the official told, adding that CCTV footage of the housing society has been obtained to identify the suspects.
According to FIR seen by Arab News, Haq after addressing gatherings in Charsadda, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, left for his residence in Rawalpindi. “I was informed by his secretary, Ahmed Shah, that unknown persons had attacked Maulana Sahib and he is laying wounded in his room,” Haq’s son told the police.
“My father has been killed by enemies of Islam and Pakistan,” Hamid-ul-Haq said. As per the FIR, Sami-ul-Haq was stabbed 12 times in his stomach, chest, forehead and ear at 6.30pm on Friday.
He added that the cleric’s driver and guard way away for 15 minutes and returned to find Haq dead. According to reports, the domestic staff has apprised police about two visitors. The police, however, have declined to confirm the information.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa “expressed sorrow and grief over the martyrdom of Maulana Sami-ul-Haq”.
On Saturday morning, the Afghan Taliban also issued a statement, extending their condolences to Haq’s “family, party workers, religious circles and Muslim Ummah.”
“Shaheed (martyr) Maulana Sami-ul-Haq had devoted his entire life to serve religion through education and politics, and he got martyred in the same way,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said.
Haq was born on December 18, 1937, at Akora Khattak and grew up in the spiritual surroundings of Darul Uloom Haqqania. He would assist his mother and grandmother in preparing food for the madrassa’s or Islamic seminary’s students.
After completing his basic education from Darul Uloom Haqqania, he obtained a degree from Dars-e-Nizami before moving to Qasimul Uloom Lahore where he received a degree in the commentary of the Qur’an from Maulana Ahmad Ali Lahori.
“I have the honor of being awarded a degree of honor from Medina University of Saudi Arabia and from Darul Uloom Deoband, India,” Sami-ul-Haq had written in his book.
After graduation, he was appointed as a faculty member at the Darul Uloom Haqqania and assigned the administrative responsibilities of the seminary after his father was elected as a member of the parliament in 1970. “I continued to assist my father till his death in 1988,” excerpts from the book read.
Following the demise of his father, Haq was appointed as the chancellor of the Haqqania in 1988 -- a position which he continued to serve until he was killed on Friday. He was chief of his own faction of the JUI-S and served as a member of Majlis-e-Shura of General Ziaul Haq from 1983-1985. In 1985, he was elected as a member of Pakistan’s Senate where he served for two terms.