November 21, 2007	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 10, 1428

PESHAWAR, Nov 20: Despite the lapse of two months, the Peshawar police have failed to arrest suspects in the murder of the vice-president of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris and leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F), Maulana Hasan Jan. The Maulana was shot dead on Sept 16 in the Sharifabad area.

The investigation officer in the case, Shahenshah Khan, told Dawn that he had interrogated at least 12 people, but no clue had been found so far. He said most of the suspects were Afghan nationals, who were released after interrogation.

He said Maulana Jan opposed suicide attacks and used to speak against it in his Friday sermons, which meant that he might have been killed by someone for his stance against suicide attacks.

The statements of only three persons, the IO said, had been recorded which could help in circumstantial evidence. He avoided disclosing any further information.

Similar was the behaviour of the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Tanveer-ul-Haq Sipra. “You will soon hear good news in this regard,” the CCPO told Dawn.

The family of the late Maulana has expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation and asked the government to disclose the names of the real culprits.

Maulana Aziz-ul-Hassan, son of Maulana Jan, told Dawn that his father had no personal enmity with anybody and his family was unable to nominate anyone in the murder case.

Terming the police version baseless, he said his father never spoke against the religious people, but used to speak for stability and prosperity of the country in his sermons. He said police should fulfil its responsibilities and arrest the real culprits and give them exemplary punishment.