Lal Masjid cleric booked on terror charges

Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid, who along with four others opened fire on a police party in the federal capital on Wednesday, has been booked under terrorism charges.

The first information report (FIR) of the case was registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station by its station house officer (SHO).

The FIR invokes six sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including 324 (attempt to commit murder), as well as sections 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) and 11E (measure to be taken against a proscribed organisation) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

On Wednesday, a CTD team purportedly went to the Lal Masjid area to ask him to appear before them and explain his return as prayer leader as well as efforts to seize the area of the former children’s library.

Read more: Maulana Aziz returns to Lal Majid’s pulpit after 2014 civil society face-off

According to the FIR, the team in the area spotted a “suspicious” vehicle which was signalled to stop.

However, three men – including two armed with sub-machine guns (SMG) – opened fire at the police.

The three men, Murad Khan, Abrar Ahmad and Sarfaraz Hussein, were arrested. Aziz and another man managed to escape. The FIR identified him as the driver Manzoor. The four people other than Aziz have also been booked.

The FIR added that Aziz’s name included in the fourth schedule — a section of the ATA under which someone suspected of terrorism is kept under observation. It added that Aziz and his accomplices fired at the police with the intent to kill.

The police recovered the SMGs, while the two men bearing the weapons failed to provide the permit, the FIR continued. They also recovered 11 shell casings from the scene.