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Assassin guns down Islamic studies dean in Karachi

Victim was an outspoken opponent of religious extremism
Assassin guns down Islamic studies dean in Karachi
Published: September 18, 2014 09:30 AM GMT
Updated: September 17, 2014 10:30 PM GMT

The head of a Pakistani university's Islamic studies department was assassinated in a drive-by shooting in the southern city of Karachi on Thursday, police and university officials said.

Muhammed Shakil Auj, dean of Islamic Studies at the University of Karachi, was shot twice in Gulshan-e-Iqbal town.

Senior police officer Pir Muhammad Shah told reporters that Auj was taken to Agha Khan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Amina Afreen, a lecturer at Liaquat Ali Home Economic College, was wounded in the attack as well, the officer said.

Muhammad Qaiser, Karachi University's vice chancellor, denounced Aul's murder and announced three days of mourning for the university.

"Professor Auj's death is a huge loss to the country considering his lifelong services in the field of education," Qaiser told ucannews.com.

He blamed the government for its failure to prevent attacks on professors, doctors, Islamic scholars and lawyers in Karachi.

"We demand that the government apprehend the killers of Professor Auj and beef up security at the university," he said.

According to the university's website, Auj, an author of 15 books, was associated with Karachi University for 19 years and had been heading the Islamic Studies department since February 2012.

Auj had recently spoken publicly about intolerance and religious extremism in Pakistan.

"The intolerance in our society resulted after the dissemination of religious teaching in their own interest," he said during an August conference at the university, reported Pakistan's Daily Times on August 23.

Karachi, a sprawling port city of 20 million people, has long been beset by religious, sectarian and ethnic strife.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that 1,557 people have been killed in violence in Karachi this year through June while more than 3,200 people were killed last year.

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