Ready to forgive Musharraf, says Lal mosque cleric

Granted pre-arrest bail in two criminal cases against surety of Rs50,000 per case

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Tuesday, granted pre-arrest bail to Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz in two criminal cases against the surety of Rs50,000 each.

The pre-arrest bail was granted to the firebrand cleric by Additional District & Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood in court early Tuesday morning.

On Monday, the court had refused to grant pre-arrest bail to Aziz in two cases, directing the capital police to produce him before the court on Tuesday.

The court had directed SHO Aabpara Police to produce Aziz before the court if he was not already in custody in any other case. “If he is in custody then a report be submitted,” the court had ordered.

The Aabpara Police had registered a case under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against Aziz and others. A separate case under Section 506 (ii) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the PPC was also registered.

Aziz’s counsel Tariq Asad had on Monday submitted two pre-arrest bail petitions, along with an application, seeking exemption from personal appearance of his client before the court. He also filed an application under Section 497 of the Criminal Procedure Code for grant of bail.



The court, however, decided to take up all the petitions together on February 2, and ordered filing of fresh bail applications in the cases.

Ready to forgive Musharraf

Speaking to the media after securing pre-arrest bail, Aziz said he was ready to forgive former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf and others in the Lal Masjid case. “I will soon be able to persuade some of my family members and will announce the forgiveness publicly,” Aziz told reporters, saying he did not make any deal with anyone regarding the case.

The cleric claimed that Musharraf would not have committed such a mistake had Sharia law been enforced in the country. “Musharraf is my Muslim brother and I will pardon him after consultation with my family members,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of forgiveness in Islam, Aziz said that people do quarrel but then they forgive each other and reunite and we should also unite for Quran and Sunnah.

“This is an act of goodwill, for peace in country, for the end of terrorism and for peace in children’s schools,” Aziz said while condemning the attack on Charsadda University adding that “our brothers were martyred.”

Meanwhile, the cleric’s counsel expressed his opposition to Aziz’s statement to pardon the former military dictator during his media talk. “I will register a case against Aziz if he pardoned those involved in the Lal Masjid operation,” Tariq Asad told the media. He said that Aziz and his family was free to forgive Musharraf and others but he can’t speak for all “martyrs” of the Lal Masjid.

On July 3, 2007, Musharraf had ordered a military operation against the mosque administration for challenging the writ of the state.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd,  2016.