Loading articles...

Pakistani cleric who fought US forces in Afghanistan dies

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Maulana Sufi Mohammad, a radical cleric from Pakistan who travelled to neighbouring Afghanistan to battle international forces after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, has died at the age of 94.

Family members say he died Thursday in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and was to be buried later in the day.

Pakistan arrested the cleric upon his return from Afghanistan in 2009 and he was sentenced on multiple charges. He was released last year for health reasons.

He is the father-in-law of Mullah Fazlullah, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, who is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

The U.S. and Afghanistan have long accused Pakistan of harbouring militants. Pakistan denies such allegations, pointing to its own costly war against homegrown extremists.

The Associated Press