Mufti Shah Mir, accused of aiding Pakistan in the abduction of an Indian businessman and former Indian Navy officer from Iran, was shot dead on Friday night by unidentified gunmen in Turbat. Mir, known for his involvement in illicit activities, was ambushed by bike-borne assailants as he was leaving a local mosque after Taraweeh (night) prayers. He was shot multiple times at close range and was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, according to a report by Dawn.
A notorious human and arms trafficker, Mir operated under the guise of a religious scholar and was a member of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, an Islamic fundamentalist political party. He had reportedly survived two assassination attempts last year.
All you need to know about Mufti Shah Mir
Sources revealed that Mir was a key link to ISI-led death squads and played a crucial role in the abduction and extrajudicial killings of several Baloch youth. He was also instrumental in spreading religious extremism in Balochistan. In March 2016, Kulbhushan Jadhav was abducted from the Iran-Pakistan border by a group led by Mullah Omar Irani of Jaish al-Adl and later handed over to the Pakistan Army through multiple intermediaries, including Mir. Irani was also killed in November 2020, along with his two sons, in the same region—allegedly by the ISI.
Mir’s killing is suspected to be the result of an internal power struggle, with some sources suggesting ISI operatives may have been behind it. Last week, two other members of JUI-F, Wadera Ghulam Sarwar and Molvi Amanullah, were also assassinated by bike-riding gunmen in what local police described as targeted killings. Mir had recently restricted his movements after surviving previous attempts on his life.
“He was providing intelligence on Baloch fighters to the Pakistan Army,” a source stated. “In 2023, a teacher named Abdul Rauf was murdered in Turbat over alleged blasphemy, and the killing was orchestrated under Mir’s instructions.”
Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was abducted in 2016 while running a business in Chabahar, Iran. He was later taken to the Chaman area of Balochistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In April 2017, a Pakistani military court sentenced him to death on espionage and sabotage charges—allegations India condemned as a premeditated murder. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) intervened, staying his execution and ordering Pakistan to review his conviction while granting consular access to India.