Pakistani cleric who fought US forces in Afghanistan dies

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A radical cleric from Pakistan who travelled to neighbouring Afghanistan to battle international forces after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion died Thursday at the age of 94.

Family members say Maulana Sufi Mohammad died in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, where a funeral will be held 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, a Pakistani Taliban leader who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan last year.

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.