Muhammad Bilal was among 90 who died in dual bomb attacks in Lahore on Friday
A British businessman was among those killed during attacks on mosques in Pakistan last week, his family said last night as they paid tribute to his humanitarian work.
Muhammad Ashraf Bilal, 58, was among at least 90 people who died on Friday when armed militants attacked two mosques of the Ahmadi group in Lahore, raking worshippers with gunfire and taking hostages.
Mr Bilal’s nephew, Sardar Fareed, last night said: “His loss will not only be felt by his direct family members but also by many more. He was a true servant of humanity. Muhammad was a living example of the Ahmadi Muslim motto ‘Love for all, hatred for none’.”
Farooq Aftab, an Ahmadi spokesman in London, said Mr Bilal was on a business trip in Pakistan and was visiting the mosque for Friday prayers with colleagues.
According to witnesses, he was shot in the shoulder and foot as gunmen entered the mosque.
Mr Bilal was a “family man″ with three children, Aftab said.
“During his visits to Pakistan, he had established a medical clinic, employing four doctors to provide free medical care for hundreds of people on a daily basis, irrespective of their religion or background,” his family said. “In addition, he provided direct financial support to many of the poor of Lahore.”
Bilal’s family were said to have flown out to Pakistan yesterday morning for his funeral.
A spokesman for a group describing itself as the Punjabi Taliban has claimed responsibility for the violence.
At least two of the seven attackers were captured, while some died in the stand-off.
Akram Naeem, a senior police official in Lahore, said the interrogation of one of the arrested suspects revealed that the gunmen were involved with the Pakistani Taliban, who have staged attacks across the country for years.
The 17-year-old suspect told police that the men had trained in the country′s North Waziristan tribal region.
“Our initial investigation has found that they all belong to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban movement,” Naeem said.
He said the suspect, Abdullah, was trained in Miran Shah – the main city in North Waziristan. The region has long been a base for militant groups focused on battling US and Nato forces across the border in Afghanistan.
But as the army has mounted operations against the Pakistani Taliban elsewhere in the tribal belt, many in the group – which has focused on attacking targets in Pakistan – have since set up operations in North Waziristan.
The Foreign Office last night confirmed that one British national was killed in the attack on Friday.
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