Islamabad, November 2: Pakistani religious scholar and former senator Maulana Samiul Haq was assassinated in Rawalpindi on Friday. Maulana Samiul Haq, who heads Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Akora Khattak, was known as 'Father of Taliban'.

According to reports, unidentified gunmen stabbed Maulana Samiul Haq and sped away. He was rushed to District Headquarters Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. "He was stabbed multiple times,"  his son Maulana Hamidul Haq told Dawn. Pak PM Imran Khan Arrives in China on Maiden Visit for Talks on CPEC, IMF Bailout.

Haq served as chairman of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council and was the leader of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party, known as JUI-S. His death comes amid nationwide protests by religious groups angered by a high court acquittal of a Christian woman Asia Bibi for blasphemy.

Maulana Samiul Haq was associated with Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf for the July 25 election. Born on 18 December 1937, Haq had close ties with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. He was member of the Senate of Pakistan from 1985 to 1991 and again from 1991 to 1997.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 02, 2018 08:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).