Militants gunned down religious leader in Pakistan

Unknown militants gunned down the General Secretary of Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) religious group in capital city Islamabad on Friday, said officials. According to police officials, General Secretary ASWJ, Mufti Muneer Muawiya, and an office bearer of the party Qari Asad Mahmoud were shot dead in Islamabad's I-8 sector. Police official Mohammad Irfan told KUNA that two gunmen sprayed bullets on their car in a residential area and escaped from the scene on a motorbike. The members of the party staged a protest in Islamabad and refused to hand over the bodies to police. The spokesman for ASWJ, Mohammad Tayyeb Haidri confirmed the incident and said, "Our leaders were killed in a targeted attempt on their life." The police officials said the incident might be a sectarian in nature. This was the second ASWJ leader gunned down in one month as Maulana Shamsur Rehman Muawiya, the chief of ASWJ's Punjab chapter was killed after unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car along Ravi Road in eastern city Lahore in December. The sectarian violence in Pakistan has rose after deadly clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslim groups in eastern Rawalpindi city in November 2013. ASWJ strongly condemned the killings and demanded increased security following frequent attacks on the organization's leaders.