Rallying for Mumtaz Qadri: Case registered against 2,000 party activists

Nominated persons include Pakistan Sunni Tehreek chief

KARACHI: Police have registered a case against nearly 2,000 members of the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (PST), naming 18 party members including party chief Sarwat Aijaz Qadri, in the FIR.

The case was registered as these men held a conference in support of Mumtaz Qadri, the man convicted for the murder of Punjab governor Salman Taseer. The case was registered at the Soldier Bazaar police station on Sunday night on behalf of the state under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code and Anti-Terrorism Act.



The Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Conference was held by different religious organisations belonging to the Barelvi school of thought, including PST, Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan at Nishtar Park on Sunday. Nominated religious party leaders include Qadri, Maulana Irshad Bukhari, Maulana Sharif and Maulana Irshad Ghauri.

"The religious parties had permission for the event but they started making speeches over the Mumtaz Qadri issue and criticised the army, the judiciary and the government," Soldier Bazaar SHO Irshad Soomro told The Express Tribune. No one has been arrested yet but SHO VSoomro vowed to nab the culprits soon.

Meanwhile, PST condemned the FIR against them and claimed they are ready to face the 'fabricated' case.

"Nothing wrong happened in the conference as we also supported the army and the country's solidarity," said PST spokesperson Fahim Shaikh. "The police registered a wrong case. We will register a counter FIR against them for registering a fake case against us," Shaikh vowed. On December 18, 2015, two cases were registered against 500 participants including a dozen nominated persons for holding a rally in support of Mumtaz Qadri.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2016.