Pakistan 'scholar' behind Kulbhushan Jadhav's kidnapping shot dead in Balochistan

Mufti Shah Mir was a leading religious scholar in Balochistan who had survived two earlier attempts on his life, reported local media.

They reportedly gunned down Mir from motorcycles as he was leaving a local mosque in Turbat after his night prayers.

He was shot multiple times at point-blank range and died at the hospital on Friday.

Mir was a member of the fundamentalist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) who worked as an arms and human trafficker under the cover of a scholar, The Times of India reported.

He was also close to the ISI. As per reports, he often visited terror camps in Pakistan and helped terrorists infiltrate Indian territory.

Two other members of Mir's party were shot dead last week in Khuzdar.

Kulbhushan Jadhav case

Kulbhushan Jadhav ran a business in Iran's Chabahar after taking premature retirement from the Navy.

He is on death row in Pakistan after being convicted of spying by a military court in 2017.

India condemned the verdict and accused Islamabad of not allowing a fair trial.

The International Court of Justice halted his execution in 2019, asking Pakistan to review his conviction and grant him consular access.

Jadhav was kidnapped from near the Iran-Pakistan border in 2016 and handed over to the Pakistani army. He is currently lodged in a Pakistani prison.

According to reports, Mullah Omar Irani, a member of Jaish al-Adl who played a key role in kidnapping Jadhav, was allegedly shot dead by ISI operatives in Turbat in 2020.

In 2021, Pakistan adopted a bill to allow Jadhav to appeal his conviction, but India said the law had the same "shortcomings" as previous legislation and "failed" to create an atmosphere that would ensure a fair trial in this case.