ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry on Friday came under immense pressure to take action against Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz after four key legal documents asserting that the cleric was an absconder were presented before the Upper House by Senator Farhatullah Babar.
Babar, who also sought the chair’s permission to move a privilege motion against Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for ‘misleading’ the House, said Nisar incorrectly stated in Senate that the government did not move against Aziz because of lack of evidence in the case lodged against him. In a policy statement presented to Senate on Dec 30, 2015, on the implementation of the National Action Plan, the interior minister had said that if anyone came up with documentary evidence against Aziz, immediate action would be taken regardless of political considerations.
The documents Babar produced included a copy of the FIR against Aziz dated Dec 19, 2014, arrest warrants issued against him, a court order declaring Aziz an absconder, an advertisement declaring Aziz an absconder and copy of an official notification issued to cellular companies to suspend services in the vicinity of Lal Masjid to prevent dissemination of Aziz’s Friday sermons. Aziz had publicly declared allegiance to and sought the support of Daesh, Babar claimed, adding that the government was “deliberately not apprehending him [Aziz] either because of fear or complicity”. Babar said the documents, which are also available with the Interior Ministry, proved that Nisar’s statement in Senate on Dec 30 was not based on the truth. He urged the Senate chairman to send the matter to the privilege committee or ask the government for a formal explanation on the contradiction between the minister’s statement and the facts highlighted by these documents.
DAILY TIMES.
YEMI.
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