KARACHI: Police on Monday registered a terrorism case against leaders of the Tanzeemat-i-Ahle Sunnat — an alliance of several religious parties of the Barelvi school of thought — for allegedly inciting people to violence against the state and its institutions by raising the case of Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed and convicted killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, during a rally in Nishtar Park a day earlier.

At the Sunday event, speakers demanded a fresh trial of Mumtaz Qadri by the Federal Shariat Court, termed the death sentence handed down to him ‘un-Islamic’ and warned that they could go to any extent if the government failed to change its attitude.

An official at the Soldier Bazaar police station said the FIR was lodged on behalf of the state under Sections 37 (cooperation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence), 147 (punishment for rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.

“Around a dozen people have been nominated in the FIR and prominent among them are Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ejaz Qadri, Maulana Irshad Bukhari, Jamaat-i-Ahle Sunnat chief Syed Shah Turab-ul-Haq Qadri who addressed the conference. However, no arrest has been made yet.”

The police insisted that despite a clear warning the leaders of the multi-party alliance chose to defy the set rules.

“The Tanzeemat-i-Ahle Sunnat has been organising such conferences for the past several years for which they take proper permission from the office of the deputy commissioner concerned and we provide all due security during the entire event,” said Jamshed Town SP Dr Fahad Ahmed.

“However, for the last couple of years they have made the entire event a kind of campaign in favour of Mumtaz Qadri. Under the national action plan (NAP) such a demand for a death-row convict is intolerable. Derogatory remarks were also used during speeches at the conference against the judiciary.”

He said the leadership of the alliance was already aware of the issue and they had been warned by the police in this regard, but they chose to defy the directives forcing the police to take legal action.

“The arrest would be made for sure,” said the SP when asked about further action expected after the FIR. “Under the NAP, we are bound to check every single move aimed at defying the law of the land and challenging the writ of the state. There is no question of any concession and you would see arrests very soon.”

The police action attracted a strong reaction from the ST, which threatened to launch a protest movement if the FIR against Sarwat Ejaz Qadri and other clerics was not withdrawn.

“We have always supported the state institutions and we have always raised our voice for our armed forces,” said an ST statement. “It’s an absolute bundle of lies that the leaders violated the set rules and defied the code of conduct during their speeches. The Sindh government is politicising the issue in the name of the NAP.”

The party questioned the role of the Sindh police when it came to checking the remarks of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party leaders against the state and its institutions.

“Everyone knows that every few days voice is raised from Larkana against the state and its institutions but neither the police nor the government pays any heed.”

The party demanded immediate withdrawal of all charges against the leaders and clerics and said: “We have every right to raise our voice against this injustice.”

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2016