Mufti Mir Shot Dead In Balochistan, Who Was He And How Is He Linked To Abduction Of Kulbhushan Jadhav?

A Pakistani man, Mufti Shah Mir, who was previously accused of assisting the ISI in the abduction of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from Iran, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Balochistan on Friday night, reports confirm. The religious figure had survived two previous assassination attempts and was known to be involved in arms and human trafficking activities.

Mir, who was affiliated with the fundamentalist party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), was ambushed while leaving a mosque in Turbat after prayers. Gunmen reportedly fired multiple shots at close range, and Mir later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. This killing is believed to be part of a broader series of attacks in the region, where targeted killings of militants have become increasingly common.

Mir was a key figure in the 2016 kidnapping of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national who was abducted by a group led by Jaish al-Adl’s Mullah Omar Irani along the Iran-Pakistan border. Jadhav was handed over to the Pakistani military with the help of various intermediaries, including Mir. He was later sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and sabotage, though the verdict was met with strong international condemnation and led to a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in favor of India.

Mir’s role went beyond the Jadhav case. He was heavily involved in assisting terrorist organizations, providing intelligence, and supporting extremist activities in Balochistan. His death follows a string of other targeted killings in the region, underlining the volatile security situation in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

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