Police in northwest Pakistan have started a manhunt for suspects, including a Muslim professor accused of killing a colleague from the Ahmadiyya sect minority on religious grounds.
Police officer Ashoor Khan told the dpa news agency on Tuesday that two men shot dead in the city of Peshawar Naeemuddin Khattak, who did his doctorate in zoology and was a college teacher.
Khattak’s brother told police that a Muslim professor from another college with whom the 56-year-old victim had violent arguments over religion shot him, Khan said.
“We are searching possible hiding places to arrest the suspect,” said the policeman.
The incident occurred two months after a Pakistani-American man belonging to the Ahmadiyya sect was shot dead in a court during his trial under Pakistan’s blasphemy law.
The US State Department criticized the murder and urged Pakistan to repeal such laws to prevent crimes sparked by religious hatred.
Pakistan’s four million-strong Ahmadiyya group has faced death, intimidation and an ongoing hate campaign for decades.
Ahmadis insist that they follow Islam. However, Pakistan declared the group non-Muslim in 1974 because they viewed the founder of their sect, Ghulam Ahmad, as a prophet. Orthodox Islam considers Muhammad to be his last prophet.
According to community statistics, since 1984, when sectarian violence began in Pakistan, more than 260 members of the sect have been killed in gun or bombing attacks.
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