FIR against Aziz: Court seeks reply from interior ministry

Interior ministry joint secretary says Abdul Aziz, his seminary are no threat to state

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court directed on Thursday the interior ministry to submit a written reply in two weeks on a complaint seeking registration of a criminal case against Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was a bit annoyed when a senior official of the ministry informed the court that he is not authorised to submit any reply on the issue.

The ministry’s joint secretary (security) Hidayatullah informed the court that the Lal Masjid cleric and students of Jamia Hafsa have no organisation which poses a threat to the state.

When the court asked the joint secretary to submit the same in writing, he said he was not authorised to do so.

The court asked if the ministry did not want to proceed with the case, he should submit a written reply. To this, he said that he doesn’t have the authority to submit a response on the ministry’s behalf.

On the previous hearing, the court had ordered that a high official of the ministry should represent it before the court.

The official appeared before the court to apprise it on the petition in compliance with the directions issued on May 18 but ultimately sought time from the court to submit a written reply in the case.

Meanwhile, the ministry through its deputy secretary Azhar Amin Chaudhry has submitted para-wise comments on the petition and requested the court to dismiss it “being meritless.”

While describing the ‘factual position,’ the ministry has reproduced what the complainant and the district court has already stated in the petition and the order, respectively.

Jibran Nasir, a civil society activist, has requested the court to set aside an order of the district court and direct the respondents to register an FIR against Aziz, his wife Umme Hassan, and students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to Daish.

The petitioner moved the IHC after Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood dismissed his application on March 7, observing that the complainant lacked legal standing for registration of the FIR.

He has made Islamabad’s Justice of Peace (lower court judge), Ministry of Interior, Inspector General of Police, SSP and the SHO Aabpara police station respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2016.