Islamabad: Pakistan’s religious affairs minister Mufti Abdul Shakoor tragically lost his life in a road accident in Islamabad on Saturday, officials said.
The police said that a Toyota Hilux Revo collided with the minister’s vehicle when he was travelling from Marriott Hotel towards the Secretariat Chowk in Islamabad’s secured Red Zone. The photos and videos showed that the minister’s black Corolla sustained extensive damage with its front crumpled and the sides heavily dented.
Shakoor was shifted to Islamabad’s Poly Clinic Hospital but did not survive the accident. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan said Shakoor was driving alone when his car collided with the other vehicle. “He tragically passed away at the scene of the accident,” he said.
The police have taken all five individuals, including the driver of the vehicle that hit Shakoor’s car, into custody. The police chief said that an investigation was underway.
Mufti Abdul Shakoor’s funeral prayers were held in his hometown in the Lakki Marwat district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday (April 16).
Who was Abdul Shakoor?
Mufti Shakoor, a prominent Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) leader from Lakki Marwat, secured the NA-51 National Assembly seat from the country’s northwestern region during the 2018 general elections. He joined the federal cabinet after the ruling alliance came into power in April 2022.
Condolences pour in
The news of Shakoor’s death prompted an outpouring of condolences. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was deeply saddened by the sudden death of his “friend, companion, and an important member of the federal cabinet.” The prime minister remembered Abdul Shakoor as “a practitioner-scholar, an ideological political activist, and a good man”. He prayed for his forgiveness and extended sympathies to his bereaved family.
President Dr Arif Alvi expressed his profound sadness and lauded Mufti Shakoor’s services towards interfaith harmony. National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf praised him as a “pious person and principled politician” who worked tirelessly for people’s welfare and the country’s development.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, and several other political figures, including opposition leaders Fawad Chaudhry and Faisal Javed, extended their condolences and prayed for the departed soul.
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al Malki extended his “sincere condolences” to the minister’s family and the people of Pakistan over the tragic demise. “To Allah, we belong and to Allah, we return,” the embassy wrote on Twitter.
