Mufti Shah Mir, Accused in Kulbhushan Jadhav’s Abduction, Shot Dead in Pakistan

Mufti Shah Mir, a controversial scholar(mufti), accused of helping Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI in the abduction of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Turbat town of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The attack took place late Friday night as he was leaving a mosque after offering prayers.

 

 

As per reports, Mir was involved in the abduction and extra-judicial killings of Baloch youth and was instrumental in spreading religious extremism in the Balochistan province. He had previously survived two assassination attempts and was reportedly on the radar of violent groups. Mir’s name surfaced in connection with the abduction of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was taken from Iran-Pakistan border and handed over to Pakistani authorities in 2016.

 

 

Kulbhushan Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was living in Iran’s Chabahar port as a businessman when he was kidnapped in 2016. He was involved in a legitimate business related to ship breaking and trading. Reports suggest that Jadhav was first kidnapped by the extremist group Jaish ul-Adl from Iran and later handed him over to ISI, with Mir’s involvement.

 

 

However, Pakistan claimed that Jadhav was caught in Balochistan on March 3, 2016, accusing him of being an Indian spy. This claim has been strongly denied by India, which has maintained that Jadhav was abducted from Iran and falsely framed. Pakistan then accused Jadhav of espionage and terrorism and a military court sentenced him to death in 2017.

 

 

India took the matter to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled in 2019 that Pakistan had violated Jadhav’s rights by denying him consular access. The ICJ ordered Pakistan to allow India access to Jadhav, but Pakistan has continued to block a fair trial. Jadhav is currently jailed in an undisclosed high-security prison in Pakistan.