Mufti Shah Mir, a leading Pakistani religious "scholar" of Balochistan, was gunned down by unknown armed men in Turbat town of Kech, late on Friday night (Mar 7), DAWN reported. Mir was also accused of helping the country's spy agency ISI in kidnapping former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from Iran. Jadhav is still jailed in Pakistan on death row. 

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Police said that the armed men targeted Mir when he was coming out after performing the night prayer. 

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"Armed men riding motorcycles opened fire on Mufti Shah Mir, leaving him seriously injured," police said as quoted by the news website. They further added that Mir was rushed to Turbat Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. 

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The report mentioned that Mir, who previously survived two attempts on his life, received multiple bullet injuries that caused his death. 

Mir was close to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F), an Islamic fundamentalist political party in Pakistan. This attack came days after two leaders of JUI-F were shot dead in Khuzdar. 

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Kulbhushan Jadhav in Pakistan prison 

Jadhav ran a business in Iran's Chabahar after taking premature retirement from the Navy. He was kidnapped from near the Iran-Pakistan border in 2016 and is currently on death row in Pakistan after being convicted of spying by a military court in 2017. 

Islamabad accused him of espionage and terrorist activities, inviting sharp criticism from New Delhi for not allowing a fair trial.

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The case has led to significant tensions between India and Pakistan, with both countries engaging in a diplomatic row. 

India also approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which intervened in 2019, staying Jadhav's execution and ordering Pakistan to provide consular access to him. 

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(With inputs from agencies)