Lal Masjid cleric’s murder: Police urged to secure red warrant against Musharraf

Abdur Rashid Ghazi’s son files application with Aabpara police SHO

ISLAMABAD: The capital’s police have been asked to initiate proceedings to secure red warrants for former dictator General (retired) Pervez Musharraf so that he could be brought back to the country to face the courts.

On Tuesday, the son of former Lal Masjid cleric Abdur Rashid Ghazi approached the police with the request to initiate the process of bringing Musharraf back to Pakistan. An application in this regard was submitted to the SHO at Aabpara Police Station.



Rashid, together with his brother Abdul Aziz used to run the Lal Masjid in the capital and the adjoining Jamia Hafsa seminary. However, in 2007, military commandoes stormed it to take on the militants holed up inside. Rashid was killed in the operation.

Six years on September 2, 2013, the Aabpara police had registered a murder case against Musharraf on the directions of the Islamabad High Court. The former president was arrested on October 10 and was granted bail by a sessions judge on November 4, 2013.

Rashid’s son, Haroon, had gone to court, accusing the former dictator of murdering his father. But with Musharraf abroad, an Islamabad district court had declared the former strongman a proclaimed offender for his continued failure to appear before the court in the murder case and issued permanent arrest warrants against Musharraf in September 2016.

The court had also ordered Islamabad Police and district authorities to seize all properties of Musharraf and hold them under attachment until further order by the court. The court had also confiscated surety bonds of Rs200,000 which had been submitted by Musharraf’s guarantors — Captain (retd) Nazir Ahmed and Jan Mohammad — after Musharraf had been granted bail by a sessions court in November 2013.

Earlier, the complainant had also petitioned the district court for issuing red warrants against Musharraf.

In his fresh application to the police, Haroon said that the court had disposed of his petition with the observation that investigation officer in the case had the authority to initiate the process for obtaining red warrants for Musharraf.



He maintained that proceedings in the case were being delayed owing to Musharraf’s continued absence.

Musharraf’s lawyers, meanwhile, have repeatedly told the court that former military ruler was abroad for medical treatment.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2018.