ISLAMABAD: The sons of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the slain naib khateeb of the Lal Masjid, were arrested by capital police on Wednesday for illegal possession of a weapon and the unauthorized possession of a paramilitary uniform.

Rangers and police units deployed on Garden Road, near the National Press Club, stopped a vehicle with three men on board in the early hours of Wednesday morning. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement officials recovered a 22-bore pistol from their possession.

Upon questioning, two of the men identified themselves as Haroon Rashid and Haris Rashid, the sons of the former Lal Masjid cleric.

But while they were able to produce a licence for the weapon, they did not have a permit to carry it.

Further inspection of the vehicle led to the discovery of an armed forces uniform from the vehicle, the authorities said, adding that the men and the item recovered from their possession were then shifted to Kohsar police station.

The men told police that they lived in Sector F-7/4 and were on their way to their native town of Rojhan for Eid.

Three men arrested for illegal possession of weapon, military uniform

A case was registered against the three men under sections 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 170 (impersonating a public servant) and 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent) of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Arms Ordinance, police said.

They added that the three men were later produced before a court, where they were handed over to police custody on a one-day physical remand.

When contacted, Kohsar police officials said that they were in the process of verifying the arms licence, adding that if it was found to be genuine, charges under the Arms Ordinance would be dropped. However, they maintained that the men had committed a crime by carrying a weapon without a permit.

Talking about the uniform that was recovered from them, police officials said the two siblings admitted that they had purchased the jacket around four years ago but had not disclosed where they got it from.

Describing the jacket, the police official said, “It bore the print of an army uniform, but without any shoulder pips or badges.”

Published in Dawn, September 24th , 2015

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