FIR against Abdul Aziz sought

Quotes report in which Lal Masjid cleric expressed no regret over supporting Daish

ISLAMABAD:

Abdul Aziz, a civil society member has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking its intervention for the registration of a criminal case against cleric.

Syed Khurram Zaki has moved the IHC requesting that the court direct the respondents to take cognisance of the offence and register an FIR against Aziz, his wife, and students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to Daish.



Zaki went to the high court after Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood, dismissed his application a few days back, observing that the complainant lacked legal standing for registration of the FIR.

“However, this order shall not create any hindrance in the way of the federal government for the registration of an FIR, if so desired,” Mehmood had stated in his order.

While referring to the wording, Zaki through his counsel said that the “respondents are duty bound to take the necessary legal action for the protection of Pakistan...in the best interest of the state, constitution and rule of law.”

In the petition, he said that some students of Jamia Hafsa released a video on social media wherein the students invited Daish to intervene in Pakistan and kill soldiers and civilians, chop off their hands, behead them, and tear apart their bodies apart to take revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden and the Lal Masjid operation.



“The message released by the Lal Masjid students in support of the banned outfit Daish was lethal in its nature and amounts to mutiny and waging war against the state of Pakistan,” Zaki stated.

“[Supporting an enemy of the state] is a heinous crime punishable with death or imprisonment,” he added.

While referring to a story published in The Express Tribune in December 2014, the counsel stated that Aziz not only owned the message, but also admitted that the video was prepared with his consent.

In December 2014, the chief cleric of Lal Masjid had made it clear that he respected Daish because of similarity in their missions and had no regret over supporting the group.

Aziz had said that although Lal Masjid had no direct link with the leadership of Daish, they had deliberated on the issue and had decided to promote its mission.



Commenting on a video released on November 26, 2014, by the Jamia Hafsa students declaring their support for Daish and its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the cleric had said that the students had prepared the video with his consent and claimed they had not committed a crime by doing so but later denied his stance.

Zaki has prayed before the court to direct respondents to register a case against Aziz, his wife, and students of Jamia Hafsa under sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, Protection of Pakistan Act, 2014, Pakistan Penal Code and all the relevant sections of the criminal laws of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2016.