Gunmen have shot dead a former Pakistani parliamentarian near the north-western city of Tank, police say.
Maulana Merajuddin was the head of Maulana Fazlur Rahman's Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party in tribal areas where the Taliban have a stronghold.
He was shot dead near his home by two men on a motorcycle as he returned from the mosque after pre-dawn prayers.
He was a key figure in the government's talks with tribal elders and militants in the neighbouring Waziristan region.
"Maulana Merajuddin was shot dead at about 6am just a few yards outside his residence in Murtaza village when he was returning from the mosque," Shahab Ali Shah, the administrative head of South Waziristan tribal region, told the BBC.