OKARA: The district intelligence committee has assured the notables of the city to take a lenient view of the case of a seminary leader, who was arrested late on Friday in his seminary under terror laws for spreading hate material on a social media site.

The City B-Division police had arrested Sahibzada Fazlur Rehman in Jamia Asharful Madaris in a case under sections 9 and 11/w of the Anti-Terror Act for posting a hate message on Facebook.

His arrest triggered resentment among political and religious circles.

MNA Riazul Haq Juj and former MNA Chaudhry Arif along with traders and clerics approached Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sucrat Amman Rana and District Police Officer Faisal Rana and demanded the cleric’s release.

They assured the administration that the Sahibzada had not posted any hate message, instead he had shared the post, which was all due to misunderstanding.

The DC said the matter was discussed in the district intelligence committee and agreed to resolve the matter.

Sahibzada was presented in the divisional court of anti-terrorism judge Shabbir Ahmad Awan in Sahiwal on Tuesday. The court sent him on a 14-day judicial remand to the Okara district jail.

JAILED: Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Ramzan handed down on Tuesday four-year rigorous imprisonment with a Rs20,000 fine to Shehroz Masih in a narcotics case.

Published in Dawn January 4th, 2017