Hizb ut-Tahrir activities: ‘No ban unless UK laws challenged’
The UK will not ban Hizb ut-Tahrir unless it challenges the country’s laws, British High Commissioner Adam Thomson said in an exclusive interview to The Express Tribune.
His comments come amid reports that the Pakistani military is preparing to court martial Brigadier Ali Khan who was detained in May for alleged links to Hizb ut-Tahrir, a non-militant organisation that seeks to implement strict Shariah law in Pakistan after overthrowing the elected government. The organisation is banned in Pakistan for its “extremist” agenda though there is no evidence to suggest its involvement in militant activities. It is operating in several countries of the world and is headquartered in the UK.
“We are well aware that Hizb ut-Tahrir is proscribed in Pakistan, but so far we have not found sufficient evidence to ban this organisation,” Thomson said.
We have a very proud tradition of free speech and we have laws that ensure it is not transgressed, he said. “There are many groups in the UK that make statements which may affect people but they have not broken the law.”
Speaking about the Afghan endgame, Thomson said that the UK is aware of Pakistan’s importance in the process. “We don’t see Pakistan as the only regional player but as a very important player in a political settlement for Afghanistan,” he said. “It is also extremely important for Pakistan to play a role diplomatically and politically, but not militarily except on its side of the border.”
He said that the British government is aware of the damage that has been done to Pakistan by instability in Afghanistan. “It is not in the UK’s interest to see Pakistan destabilised by any outcome in Afghanistan. There is not going to be stability in Pakistan or Afghanistan until there is peace in the border areas,” he said.
Regarding the withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan, he said: “We aim to have all British combat forces out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 but that does not mean that Britain will leave Afghanistan. We will continue to provide military and non-military assistance to Afghanistan.”
He also said that the UK will also engage in a long-term development assistance programme since Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and will be in need of assistance for many years.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 20th, 2011.
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Calling for the peaceful transition to a Khilafah, electing a ruler and accounting him, establishing an independent judiciary, ending poverty, removing western interference ie military servicemen,drones etc., developing an education system and strengthening technological infrastructure should be applauded. This is moving everyone in the right direction; independence not dependence!
It doesn't matter what the privilege is. Even if it is created with positive intentions, like free speech. Someone, somewhere, will find a way to use it for something negative. There are no exceptions to this. But, it's worse to punish people who don't abuse it due to the ones that do. It gives the bad people the feeling of having control over things and once they recognize it, many other things can be done to harm the freedoms of people that don't involve anything illegal or violent. You just need to cross your fingers and have some faith in humanity. If having that faith turns out to be a mistake, we as humans aren't as great as we seem to think.
I m confused that who actually belongs to mental treatment. 60 years of HT`s history around the globe, there is not a single evidence for terrorist involvement. in the eyes of the west every sincere Muslim & organization is terrorist. that's it.
It is not being banned in UK so as to use this organisation later on for something big against Muslims in UK and subsequently against Pakistan. I remember the western leaders(USA,UK) repeatedly said that alqaida's infrastructure has been broken and they are disconnected and so on but now they have made it alive again saying alqaida is flourishing in Pakistan!!!!!!!!!!! For as long as we do not counter their maliocious plans and do not reform ourselves, the west will continue to work against the Muslims and it will go on and on.
Re: "It is operating in several countries of the world and is headquartered in the UK".
It is not headquartered in UK. Elementary study of the party would tell you it is ME HQ. Shallow journalism.
HT is a terrorist organisation.it is just a bunch of islamic fascists full of misogyny and homophobia.the brits are letting these barbarians spread their hatefilled ideology by misusing their freedom of speech laws.freedom of speech is okay but where it is used to incite violence and hate towards women,gays,atheists and agnostics then at that point this religious propaganda should be stopped. these HT guys are nothing but hatefilled,regressive misogynistic savages who belong in jails or mental hospitals,not in public places spreading their vile propaganda.
HT claims to challenge the West using the right of free speech offered by the West. UK Government knows how laughable their rhetoric is