New Delhi, Nov 7: Last week a top Pakistani cleric Maulana Samiul Haq, who was also known as the 'godfather of Taliban', was stabbed to death at his residence in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Haq, 82, was the head of the Islamic religious seminary Darul Uloom Haqqania in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Akora Khattak town and also the chief of the hardline political party Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami (JUI-S). Haq, a heart patient, was killed by unidentified attackers while he was resting in his room.
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The big question is what could have led to the killing of Haq. It has now become increasingly clear that he was killed at the behest of the Pakistan's ISI. Haq had in fact recently shown his willingness to encourage the Taliban to join the Afghan reconciliation process.
He had in fact assured the Americans that he would speak with all stake-holders. The ISI was however not happy with this and it is clear that the spy agency has been trying its best to stall the reconciliation process in Afghanistan. The US has been urging that the process get underway and Haq had offered his services for the same.
The same was also discussed among several lawmakers in Afghanistan recently. Jumma Din Gyanwal, a lawmaker from the Paktika province too had said that Haq may have been killed by the ISI as he wanted to play a part in the reconciliation process. He had also said all individuals working against the interests of the ISI would perish, even if they had served them in the past.
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Another lawmaker, Lailuma Ahmadi had told the Taliban that the the lesson to be learnt from Haq's killing is that whoever acts against the interests of the ISI will be killed.
So far no outfit has taken responsibility for the killing.
Haq was elected twice to Pakistan's parliament on Islami Jamhoori Itehad ticket.
He was also the chairman of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council -- an umbrella coalition of more than 40 groups, including Hafeez Saeed-led Jamat-ud Dawa (JuD) and the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba.
Haq's madrassa in Akora Khattak is known for having several top Afghan Taliban leaders among its alumni, including Mullah Omar who had received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.
Haqqani Network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AIQS) leader Asim Umar and slain Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor were also among the alumni of the seminary which is dubbed as the "University of Jihad".