Court discharges JUI-S chief’s secretary from murder probe

The release came after Maulana Samiul Haq’s sons filed affidavits in courts absolving him of suspicion

RAWALPINDI: The former secretary of slain Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S) leader has been discharged from the murder case by a civil judge in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Ahmed Shah, who was the secretary of JUI-S Chief Maulana Samiul Haq who was murdered in November last year, was declared as innocent after the police failed to extract any meaningful information from him despite having physical custody for a week while sons of Haq submitted affidavits in favour of Shah.

Malik Jameel, a counsel for Shah, told the court that the secretary was innocent, adding that the police have been unable to extract any information of note or make progress in their investigations despite having physical remand of Shah for eight days.

The counsel maintained before the court that Haq was likely murdered by highly trained assassins from Afghanistan and had fled after completing their mission.

He reminded that the court that the prosecution reserves the right to discharge any suspect from investigations at any point during the trial of a case and asked the court to discharge his client after the prosecution had submitted an affidavit in the court certifying the suspect’s innocence.

Meanwhile, Haq’s sons Maulana Rashidul Haq and Maulana Hamidul Haq, submitted an affidavit in the court stating that they no longer consider Shah a suspect. Instead, they asserted that the police and other law enforcing agencies have failed to obtain any information from him despite having his physical remand.

They maintained that Shah had been working with their father for the past 20 years, thus they have no suspicion over his involvement and had no objection if the court released him.

At this, the court ordered the investigation officer in the case, Sub-Inspector Jameel to unlock Shah’s bonds and to remove the mask on his head. Thereafter, he was discharged from the case.

Later, Shah stated that the JUI-S chief was his spiritual father and teacher, hence he could not even imagine killing him. He added that every time the police called him for investigating the case, he had cooperated readily and had even surrendered before them voluntarily when summoned to the police station.

Meanwhile, Maulana Hamidul Haq told Daily Express that his father had been assassinated by very powerful forces, adding that he was a soldier of Islam who never bowed before anyone.

Referring to Shah and the investigations into his father’s murder, he stated that they do not want to punish anyone under false or misplaced suspicion, adding that the suspect had five daughters and a differently-abled mother to look after.

“The police have been unable to retrieve any meaningful information during the physical demand which was enough to prove the suspect’s innocence,” Maulana Hamidul Haq said, adding that they only submitted the affidavit because they were satisfied that he was not involved in the murder.

He hoped the real culprits would be arrested soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2019.