JHELUM – YouTuber and controversial cleric Engineer Muhammad Ali Mirza survived an attack on Sunday, while the attacker was killed in retaliatory firing.
Police in both Jehlum and Mianwali have confirmed that the gunman who attacked Mirza’s academy on Sunday has been identified as Bilal Ahmed Khan, a history sheeter with a violent past.
Bilal Khan was named in a 2016 murder case registered at Saddar Police Station, Mianwali, for allegedly killing his school teacher while he was still a matric student.
School teacher Samar Abbas was working at Government High School Chah Hussain Wala when he was confronted by Bilal on his way back from school. Bilal warned him of teaching a lesson for stopping him from violating school discipline.
He then reportedly opened fire with pistol, hitting the teacher, who fell from his motorcycle. The attacker then fled the scene while brandishing the weapon.
The complainant in the case, Abdul Razzaq, brother of the deceased teacher, said his brother was a respectable man and was killed when his children were young, his daughter just 18 months old and his son only three months old. He said the children, now grown, repeatedly ask why their father was killed, a question he says he cannot answer without breaking down. According to him, the killing was linked to sectarian differences.
As Engineer Mirza’s academy attack went viral, it turned out that Bilal has criminal history, stating he spent three years in jail in connection with the teacher’s murder case. The situation escalated further when, according to police, a member of the teacher’s family was later killed, after which both sides entered into reconciliation.
Courts eventually withdrew the cases, and prisoners from both sides were released.
Police also revealed that Bilal’s brother, Sajid Khan, served as a police head constable and had reportedly removed him from Mianwali due to his criminal behavior. Bilal is also said to have worked as a security guard at a petrol pump in Lahore.
He remained in custody for two years before both families eventually reconciled, withdrawing all cases, and being released in December 2019.
It was reported that attacker had long-standing sectarian differences with the teacher. He said Bilal, who studied in a madrassa, used to wear a specific religious turban to school. The teacher had imposed a rule banning any clothing other than the official school uniform, which reportedly angered Bilal.
Bilal allegedly believed the restriction was targeted at his religious identity, escalating tensions that later turned violent.
Engineer Mirza unharmed in Another Gun Attack on Jhelum Academy
