IHC directs Interior Ministry to submit reply on petition against Lal Masjid cleric
The complaint against Maulana Abdul Aziz was filed by Jibran Nasir.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Ministry of Interior to submit a reply on a petition seeking registration of a First Investigation Report (FIR) against Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz for allegedly inviting the militant group Daesh to Pakistan.
The complaint was filed by activist Jibran Nasir.
During the case hearing, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani ordered the attorney general to submit a reply on behalf of the Interior Ministry in response to the petition.
The court has also directed the deputy attorney general to appear on May 18 for the next hearing of the case.
It may be mentioned here that the plaintiff had informed court that Maulana Aziz supported the demands of Jamia Hafsa students who, in a video message, invited the Daesh group, also known as Islamic State (IS), to Pakistan to avenge the deaths of Osama bin Laden and the 2007 military raid on Lal Masjid.
The preacher, who once led a week-long armed conflict against Pakistan’s army and has repeatedly called for the overthrow of the government, has now been silenced by authorities -- though technically he remains a free man.
Pakistan had previously tolerated many sectarian organizations but the government initiated action last year as part of a "National Action Plan" to counter terrorism after a Taliban attack killed more than 150 people -- mostly children -- at an army-run school in Peshawar.
In May 2015, an imam in the Kasur district of Punjab was jailed for five years for inciting hate against Shia sect.
In October, a former leader of a banned sectarian party was imprisoned for six months for hate speech.
