Pakistan: Muslim cleric known for endorsing jihadist suicide attacks dies in a suicide bombing

Image: Jihad Watch

Hamid Ul Haq, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) group and a supporter of the Taliban in Afghanistan, was killed in a suicide attack at the Haqqania Madrasa, also known as Darul Uloom Haqqania, in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Throughout his life, he consistently endorsed Taliban suicide attacks in Afghanistan. Hundreds of Taliban fighters graduated from his madrasa and were sent to Afghanistan to fight against the previous government and international forces. His father, who was killed in 2018, was considered the spiritual father of the Taliban. 

However, the death of the JUI-S leader has sparked mixed reactions among Afghan citizens. While many despised Hamid Ul Haq due to his support for the Taliban, some social media users, civil society activists, and political figures welcomed his death. Meanwhile, Pakistani experts are concerned that the ongoing conflicts between Salafists and Deobandis, as well as the religious rivalries between Barelvis and other groups, have raised the risk of civil war in Pakistan, with tensions intensifying daily.

On Friday of last week, Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq group and deputy of the Haqqania Madrasa in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was killed in a suicide attack. Pakistani police confirmed that the explosion, which occurred at the Darul Uloom Haqqania Mosque in Akora Khattak after Friday prayers, resulted in six deaths and 15 injuries. The suicide attacker targeted Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, the head of the madrasa.

The killing of Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani has been met with some Afghan citizens' and politicians' joy. Using sarcastic messages, they blamed the Haqqania Madrasa for the violence and bloodshed over the past two decades in Afghanistan, stating that the consequences of their actions had now come to pass. These citizens criticized Haqqani for supporting the war and suicide attacks in Afghanistan and expressed satisfaction that his family members would now understand the suffering of the victims of Taliban suicide attacks in Afghanistan.

Some social media users also expressed their satisfaction, saying, "The well-digger is in the well," stressing that the relatives of the JUI-S leader must now comprehend the suffering of the children and survivors of Taliban suicide attack victims, which this madrasa and its leader supported.

Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, aged 57, was a prominent leader of the Samiul Haq faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He served as a member of Pakistan's National Assembly from 2002 to 2007 and became the head of JUI-S in 2018 after the assassination of his father, Samiul Haq. The Haqqania Madrasa, where he was targeted in the attack, holds a significant position among the Taliban in Afghanistan. Many Afghans regard this madrasa as a hub of extremist education and the birthplace of the Taliban.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)