JUIF leader Noor Islam Nizami shot dead by unknown men in Pakistan's Miranshah: Reports

Noor Islam Nizami, a prominent local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) was reportedly shot dead by unknown assailants near Pakistan Market in Miranshah, North Waziristan tribal district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Noor Islam Nizami, a prominent leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) in the North Waziristan tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was reportedly fatally shot by unidentified attackers near Pakistan Market in Miranshah.

"Noor Islam Nizami, a local leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF) was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Pakistan Market in Miranshah, North Waziristan tribal district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," the police reportedly said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), commonly known as JUI (F), is a Deobandi political party in Pakistan. Established in 1945 as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, it underwent a factional split in 1988, with the "F" standing for the name of its leader, Fazal-ur-Rehman.

Renowned as "the biggest religio-political party" in Pakistan, with considerable "proven street power" as of at least 2021, JUI (F) is primarily concentrated in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan, regions predominantly inhabited by Pashtuns.

It emerged as the largest splinter group of the original JUI, which divided into two factions in 1980 due to disagreements over Pakistani president Zia-ul-Haq's support for Mujahideen outfits in the Afghanistan war.

The other faction, JUI-S, led by Samiul Haq, holds regional significance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additional splinter groups include Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Nazryati (JUI-N), which separated in 2007 but reunited with JUI (F) in 2016, and Rabita Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Muhammad Khan Sherani, which broke away in 2020.

While officially registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan as "Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam", it is commonly referred to as "Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F)".

In recent months, a number of high-profile killings, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, have taken place under mysterious circumstances in Pakistan.

Nizami's death comes days after Luqman, also known as Mir Adil, a suspected member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist group, was fatally shot by unidentified assailants in the Mamund area of Pakistan.

Earlier this year, Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman, a Tahreek-ul-Mujahdeen (TuM) commander, was found dead  in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On December 17, 2023, in a strikingly similar occurrence, Habibullah, a suspected member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, met his death when unidentified assailants ambushed and fatally shot him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Interestingly, news of Habibullah's death emerged on the very day when unconfirmed reports circulated regarding Dawood Ibrahim, India's most-wanted fugitive, allegedly being hospitalized due to poisoning by unknown perpetrators.