JUI-F leader Mufti Kifayatullah arrested ahead of Azadi March

DPO Mansehra had requested that warrants be issued for Kifayatullah's arrest under Section 3(1) of MPO

ISLAMABAD: Authorities on Sunday arrested a key leader of a mainstream religious party in Islamabad, officials and his party said.

Mufti Kifayatullah, a firebrand religious leader belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), was arrested hours before the opposition parties were set to launch an anti-government rally.

According to deputy commissioner Mansehra district Aurangzeb Haider Khan - Kifayatullah's hometown - he was arrested for 30 days.

"He has posed constant threats to law and order which may disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the district," Aurangzeb said.

For the last several days, Kifayatullah made several appearances on local TV channels criticising retired army officers for commenting on national politics on current affairs shows.

An order issued on Saturday by the deputy commissioner, saying Kifayatullah was found involved in "chanda [donation] collection, holding corner meetings and inciting the public for taking part in the Azadi March arranged by JUI-F".



"The activities of Mufti Kifayatullah are posing grave threat to public safety which may create disturbance of public tranquillity, danger to human life, health and safety.

"Due to this act, serious sectarian disharmony is prevailing in the district. The situation is snowballing into serious law and order situation [...]," stated the order issued under Section 3(1) of the West Pakistan MPO.

It further said the DPO Mansehra had requested that warrants be issued for Kifayatullah's arrest under Section 3(1) of the MPO.

"The said person may be detained and confined in Central Jail, Haripur for a period of 30 days from the date of arrest," it read.

In another significant development, the government revoked the citizenship of Hafiz Hamdullah, a former senator and vocal JUI-F official.

The state-run Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has directed all television channels to refrain from inviting Hamdullah to appear on their talks shows.

"NADRA [National Database & Registration Authority] has conveyed that Senator Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor is confirmed Alien as he is not a citizen of Pakistan," PEMRA said in a letter to television channels.

The JUI-F condemned the government actions as "illegal" and "part of political victimisation".

"We reject such illegal actions of arresting our leaders before a peaceful march and revoking the citizenship of a leader who remained senator and health minister for 11 years," said Maulana Jalil Jan, a spokesman for JUI-F in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

He noted that Hamdullah's son is serving as an officer in the Pakistan Army and his father has served as teacher in the education department of Balochistan.

"How could a person who has served as a member of the parliament, his son is an army officer, and his father served and retired as a government teacher become a foreigner?" Jan asked.

(Additional input from our correspondent)