LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: A religious scholar was killed in an explosion, suspected to have been caused by a pressure bomb, at a supermarket in Lower South Waziristan’s Wana on Monday, police said.

Wana Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asghar Ali Shah told Dawn that the explosion occurred on the ground floor of a supermarket located in Rustam Bazaar.

He said Mufti Jana Mir Masti Khel sustained critical injuries in the explosion and was immediately shifted to Wana district headquarters hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The DSP added that he and Wana City Police Station House Officer Usman Wazir, along with a large contingent of police, reached the site of the incident after the explosion, and the area was cordoned off while investigators collected forensic evidence.

The DSP said preliminary findings suggested that the pressure bomb had been planted in advance with the apparent intention of targeting the religious scholar.

He said police had filed an initial complaint and further investigation was under way to identify the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the attack.

In addition to his religious services, Mufti Jana Mir played a significant role in various national peace jirgas held after the 2004 military operations in Wana’s different areas.

Most recently, he participated in the Waziristan Peace Jirga, where he presented key recommendations aimed at restoring law and order and achieving sustainable peace in the area.

He was widely regarded as a respected religious and social figure who consistently advocated for regional and national interests and worked to promote lasting peace in the region.

Monday’s incident comes just three days after unidentified gunmen shot dead Maulana Ismail, a cleric affiliated with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), in Azam Warsak Bazaar of Lower South Waziristan’s Birmal tehsil.

On July 28, a local cleric was killed and two other people were injured in a suspected quadcopter attack near a mosque in the Landi Doag area of Birmal.

In January, JUI-F leader Maulana Sultan Muhammad Wazir was critically injured in a bomb blast near a madressah in South Waziristan’s Wana Bazaar area and later succumbed to his injuries.