Allegiance to Da’ish: High court dismisses petition to register FIR against Lal Masjid cleric
Court says there is insufficient evidence against Maualana Abdul Aziz
Responding to the fact that the claim was made in a video shared on social media, Rauf stated that “registration and investigation of a case under cyber-crime laws is not the domain of police and, therefore, the police cannot register and investigate such a case.” PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In what is seen as another victory, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition to register a criminal case against Lal Masjid Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and some female students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The decision comes just days after a case against the cleric for hate speech was dismissed by a district court.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Wednesday heard the petition filed by civil society activist Jibran Nasir through his counsel Moazzam Habib.
Habib urged the court to register an FIR against Aziz, his wife, and students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to Da’ish (Arabic acronym for Islamic State group).
Nasir, who is a lawyer by profession as well, had approached the IHC after the district court dismissed his application on March 7.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood had dismissed the petitions on the ground that the complainant lacked legal standing to register an FIR.
In his petition, Nasir had contended that some students of Jamia Hafsa had pledged allegiance to the Middle Eastern ultra extremist outfit in a video released on social media. The students had also invited Da’ish to maim and kill Pakistani soldiers and civilians by chopping off their hands, beheading them, and tearing apart their bodies to take revenge for the 2007 Lal Masjid Operation and for killing Osama Bin Laden.
Further, Aziz had through another video appreciated and endorsed the students’ message. In a reply filed to the court on September 27, the interior ministry stated that strong evidence was required to charge someone with ‘waging a war against Pakistan’.
“In the absence of strong evidence, these allegations cannot be made a basis for the case,” Deputy Secretary Advocate General Mian Abdul Rauf stated in the ministry’s reply.
Responding to the fact that the claim was made in a video shared on social media, Rauf stated that “registration and investigation of a case under cyber-crime laws is not the domain of police and, therefore, the police cannot register and investigate such a case.”
Curiously, the interior ministry went on to state that as per law registering cases remains the sole domain of police which had dismissed it for lack of evidence.
Justice Kiyani, after verifying the records of the police dismissed the petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2016.
In what is seen as another victory, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed a petition to register a criminal case against Lal Masjid Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and some female students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The decision comes just days after a case against the cleric for hate speech was dismissed by a district court.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Wednesday heard the petition filed by civil society activist Jibran Nasir through his counsel Moazzam Habib.
Habib urged the court to register an FIR against Aziz, his wife, and students of Jamia Hafsa for pledging allegiance to Da’ish (Arabic acronym for Islamic State group).
Nasir, who is a lawyer by profession as well, had approached the IHC after the district court dismissed his application on March 7.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Asif Mehmood had dismissed the petitions on the ground that the complainant lacked legal standing to register an FIR.
In his petition, Nasir had contended that some students of Jamia Hafsa had pledged allegiance to the Middle Eastern ultra extremist outfit in a video released on social media. The students had also invited Da’ish to maim and kill Pakistani soldiers and civilians by chopping off their hands, beheading them, and tearing apart their bodies to take revenge for the 2007 Lal Masjid Operation and for killing Osama Bin Laden.
Further, Aziz had through another video appreciated and endorsed the students’ message. In a reply filed to the court on September 27, the interior ministry stated that strong evidence was required to charge someone with ‘waging a war against Pakistan’.
“In the absence of strong evidence, these allegations cannot be made a basis for the case,” Deputy Secretary Advocate General Mian Abdul Rauf stated in the ministry’s reply.
Responding to the fact that the claim was made in a video shared on social media, Rauf stated that “registration and investigation of a case under cyber-crime laws is not the domain of police and, therefore, the police cannot register and investigate such a case.”
Curiously, the interior ministry went on to state that as per law registering cases remains the sole domain of police which had dismissed it for lack of evidence.
Justice Kiyani, after verifying the records of the police dismissed the petition.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2016.