Faizan Ahmad Falahi, general secretary Islami Sangh Nepal, was shot dead in broad daylight in capital city Kathmandu on his way home after saying his Zuhr prayer in Nepali Jama Masjid at Ratnapark on September 26 in what Muslim leaders said was the “targeted serial killing” of Muslims.
Ahmad was coming out of the mosque near Kathmandu’s prominent Ghantaghar square, close to the metropolitan police office, when two unidentified gunmen approached him on a motorcycle and fired at least five rounds, hitting him in the head and stomach. Ahmad, in his early 40s, succumbed to the injuries in the nearby Bir Hospital. He was declared dead upon arrival at Bir Hospital nearly half an hour after the incident. This is the second case of firing at a prominent public place in the capital in two months, occurring on the day security was high following the return of PM Baburam Bhattarai from New York.
A national daily reported that the assailants had riddled Faizan with bullets after having waited for at least an hour at the corner facing Kamaladi area. Eyewitnesses painted the sequence of events as something seen in a gangster movie.
Nepalese Muslims demonstrated in front of the body of Faizan Ahmad, at a mosque in Kathmandu. The sparking angry protests by supporters and grieving relatives made the blockade of the streets in Kathmandu. The attack made the red-faced Maoist-led government shuffle the police administration immediately, removing Kathmandu police chief Kedar Rijal and bringing in a new man, Rajendra Shrestha, in his place.
Nazrul Hasan, president Islami Sangh Nepal, condemned the killing, saying Muslims were alarmed at the “targeted serial killing” of Muslims in Nepal. Hasan cited the murder of two Muslims in southern Nepalgunj city in the past as well as the killing, also in broad daylight, of controversial Nepali media baron Jamim Shah, who was shot by professional killers while going home in his car. Hasan said Ahmad was a social worker and a “gentleman” and his murder had evoked condemnation by other religious groups.
Nepal Muslim Ittehad Organisation (NMIO) has demanded the resignation of Deputy PM and Home Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar from his post on moral grounds following the cold-blooded murder of general secretary of Nepal Muslim Sangh.
Faizan Ahmad did his Almiyat from Jamiatul Falah in 1987. Then he did B.A. and M.A. from a university in New Delhi. Thereafter he did higher education from Islamic University Islamabad.