Three held in raid for alleged role in Khanzada's assassination
Raid was carried out around midnight at the Madrassa Haqqania Madina
A file of photo Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada. PHOTO: ZAHOORUL HAQ/EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
Law-enforcement agencies raided a seminary late Thursday night and took three men into custody for their alleged role in facilitating the assassination of Punjab Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada, police sources said.
The suspects, identified as Qari Imdadullah, Qari Irshad and Shaukat, were arrested from the Madrassa Haqqania Madina in Sector F-8/3 on information provided by intelligence agencies, the police sources informed.
The joint raid of Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department and Pakistan Rangers was carried out around midnight.
The suspects were subsequently taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation, it was learnt.
Officials of the Islamabad Police did not confirm the raid on record saying they were completely unaware about it.
However, the administrator of the seminary, Qari Ahsanullah Hazarvi, said the raiding authorities were accompanied by the Margalla police SHO.
Hazarvi claimed Imdadullah was his son, Irshad a teacher at the seminary while the teenager Shaukat was a guest.
He said Shaukat had come to collect the belongings of his brother — a former student — and stayed at the seminary as it was raining. “Shaukat is a teenager and doesn’t even have an identity card,” he said.
Hazarvi said the authorities did not say on what charges they apprehended the men, adding he was unable to trace them in any of the city’s police stations.
He clarified that all students were enrolled at the seminary after proper scrutiny and have no relation with any sectarian or banned outfit. “We are affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl and have informed the party leadership about the incident,” he said.
Margalla SHO Malik Bashir rejected Hazarvi’s claim saying he was not present at the time of the raid. Bashir abstained from identifying the suspects as well as their alleged link with the Attock attack.
The seminary
The seminary raided by the law-enforcement agencies is one of the few in Islamabad for which land was allotted by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on “special” directions of late Gen (retd) Ziaul Haq in mid-80’s, said a senior CDA official, who declined to be named.
The seminary is located at a greenbelt between Ismail Zabeeh Road and Faisal Avenue, close to Shah Faisal mosque.
According to CDA’s Master Plan, greenbelts are protected green patches and any construction on them is “strictly prohibited and liable to be demolished”.
“The administrator of the seminary is the rightful owner of the land in the authority’s record. But it remains a question if the CDA violated the city’s master plan and other municipal by-laws governing the city by allotting land out of a greenbelt on Gen Zia’s request,” the official added.
He shared that the seminary administration constructed additional structures in adjoining areas over time, much beyond permissible limits. “In the CDA record the additional constructions are illegal and subject to demolition,” he said.
There are as many as 329 seminaries in rural and urban areas of the capital, according to a recent police survey carried out in collaboration with the CDA and ICT Administration as part of the National Action Plan.
Of the total seminaries, 160 are illegally constructed as they have encroached on state or private land and are not registered with any government department.
The survey stated that some 31,796 students are enrolled at these seminaries. Of them, 17,419 belong to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while 14,377 hail from other parts of the country.
Earlier, there was a suggestion within the Ministry of Interior that the administrations of seminaries in Islamabad would be restricted to only enroll students from the twin cities. However, the suggestion received severe criticism from religious parties and was dubbed “unconstitutional” and against the “fundamental right to education.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2015.
Law-enforcement agencies raided a seminary late Thursday night and took three men into custody for their alleged role in facilitating the assassination of Punjab Home Minister Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada, police sources said.
The suspects, identified as Qari Imdadullah, Qari Irshad and Shaukat, were arrested from the Madrassa Haqqania Madina in Sector F-8/3 on information provided by intelligence agencies, the police sources informed.
The joint raid of Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department and Pakistan Rangers was carried out around midnight.
The suspects were subsequently taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation, it was learnt.
Officials of the Islamabad Police did not confirm the raid on record saying they were completely unaware about it.
However, the administrator of the seminary, Qari Ahsanullah Hazarvi, said the raiding authorities were accompanied by the Margalla police SHO.
Hazarvi claimed Imdadullah was his son, Irshad a teacher at the seminary while the teenager Shaukat was a guest.
He said Shaukat had come to collect the belongings of his brother — a former student — and stayed at the seminary as it was raining. “Shaukat is a teenager and doesn’t even have an identity card,” he said.
Hazarvi said the authorities did not say on what charges they apprehended the men, adding he was unable to trace them in any of the city’s police stations.
He clarified that all students were enrolled at the seminary after proper scrutiny and have no relation with any sectarian or banned outfit. “We are affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl and have informed the party leadership about the incident,” he said.
Margalla SHO Malik Bashir rejected Hazarvi’s claim saying he was not present at the time of the raid. Bashir abstained from identifying the suspects as well as their alleged link with the Attock attack.
The seminary
The seminary raided by the law-enforcement agencies is one of the few in Islamabad for which land was allotted by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on “special” directions of late Gen (retd) Ziaul Haq in mid-80’s, said a senior CDA official, who declined to be named.
The seminary is located at a greenbelt between Ismail Zabeeh Road and Faisal Avenue, close to Shah Faisal mosque.
According to CDA’s Master Plan, greenbelts are protected green patches and any construction on them is “strictly prohibited and liable to be demolished”.
“The administrator of the seminary is the rightful owner of the land in the authority’s record. But it remains a question if the CDA violated the city’s master plan and other municipal by-laws governing the city by allotting land out of a greenbelt on Gen Zia’s request,” the official added.
He shared that the seminary administration constructed additional structures in adjoining areas over time, much beyond permissible limits. “In the CDA record the additional constructions are illegal and subject to demolition,” he said.
There are as many as 329 seminaries in rural and urban areas of the capital, according to a recent police survey carried out in collaboration with the CDA and ICT Administration as part of the National Action Plan.
Of the total seminaries, 160 are illegally constructed as they have encroached on state or private land and are not registered with any government department.
The survey stated that some 31,796 students are enrolled at these seminaries. Of them, 17,419 belong to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, while 14,377 hail from other parts of the country.
Earlier, there was a suggestion within the Ministry of Interior that the administrations of seminaries in Islamabad would be restricted to only enroll students from the twin cities. However, the suggestion received severe criticism from religious parties and was dubbed “unconstitutional” and against the “fundamental right to education.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2015.