Who is Mufti Shah Mir? Pakistani 'scholar' behind Kulbhushan Jadhav kidnapping shot dead in Balochistan

Mufti Shah Mir -- a Pakistani "scholar" who was accused of helping the country's spy agency ISI in kidnapping former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from Iran -- was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Balochistan province, according to a media report.

Mir was targeted in the Turbat town of Kech on Friday when he was leaving a mosque after night prayers, the Dawn newspaper said.

“Armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on Mufti Shah Mir, leaving him seriously injured,” the paper quoted police as saying.

He was immediately shifted to Turbat hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The deceased received multiple bullet injuries that caused his death.

Mufti Shah Mir was close to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F). He previously survived two attempts on his life. The attack came days after two leaders of JUI-F were shot dead in Khuzdar.

Mir, who was involved in human and arms trafficking, was a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, operated under the cover of a mufti (scholar), according to the Times of India. 

The publication reported that he had links to ISI-led death squads and played an important part in the abduction and extrajudicial killing of numerous Baloch youths.

The report said that 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.

Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Jadhav, a 51-year-old retired Indian Navy officer who ran a business in Iran's Chabahar, was kidnapped from near the Iran-Pakistan border in 2016 and handed over to the Pakistani army.

He was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017. He is currently in aicj on kulbhui Pakistani prison.

On April 10, 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Field General Court Martial in Pakistan. India approached the International Court of Justice against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.

After hearing both sides, the Hague-based ICJ issued a verdict in July, 2019, asking Pakistan to give India consular access to Jadhav and asked the country to review the process of trial and conviction of Kulbhushan Jadhav.

(With inputs from PTI)