Pakistan: ‘Father of Taliban’ cleric buried after attack

Thousands of people have gathered for the funeral of Pakistani cleric Maulana Sami ulHaq, known as the Father

of the Taliban, who was killed on Friday. Reports say a bomb disposal unit cleared the graveyard before Haq was buried in his home town of Akora Khattak, north-west of Islamabad.

Haq was the head of the Haqqania madrassa, where many Taliban members - including the group’s founder, Mullah Omar - had studied.

The motive for the killing is unclear.

In a statement, the Afghan Taliban said his death was “a great loss for the entire Islamic ummah (community)”.

What is known about Friday’s attack?

There are conflicting reports of exactly how Haq was killed.

The cleric’s son said his father was stabbed “multiple times” in the house he owned in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

“He was resting in his room during Asr time when his driver-cum-guard went out for 15 minutes,” Maulana

Hamid ul-Haq was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Geo TV.

“When he returned, he found Maulana Sami ul-Haq dead in his bed and his body covered in blood.”

No group has so far admitted to being behind the attack.

Afghan officials had recently asked the cleric, believed to have been in his 80s, to help convince the Taliban to begin peace negotiations.

He was a former senator who ran a faction of the religious Jamiat Ulema-eIslam party - and was close to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI party.

Mr Khan is currently on an official visit to Beijing, but his office said in a statement that he condemned the killing and had ordered an investigation.