ISLAMABAD: Lal Masjid Shuhada Foundation has termed Maulana Abdul Aziz’s decision to withdraw the murder case against former president Pervez Musharraf against the spirit of Sharia.

The foundation held a meeting in Lal Masjid on Monday and declared that Maulana Aziz had imposed a ‘clergy dictatorship’ on his family to hide the tyranny of a military dictator.

The meeting was followed by a press conference at the same place where a day earlier Maulana Aziz had addressed mediapersons and pardoned everybody responsible for the 2007 military operation on the mosque and the attached seminary, Jamia Hafsa.

Though the chairperson of Shuhada Foundation is Ume Hasaan, the wife of Maulana Aziz who was sitting beside her husband at the time of his media talk, the other office-bearers of the foundation, including its president Tariq Asad advocate, are opposing the decision.

“This decision is against Sharia and we would like Maulana Abdul Aziz to take it back,” Mr Asad said, adding: “Maulana Aziz is talking about the implementation of Sharia in the country but his own acts are contrary to the principles of Sharia.”

He said he and Shuhada Foundation never bowed to any pressure or offer by anybody, including the former military dictator.

Mr Asad said the former general himself had wanted the Shuhada Foundation to take back the murder case of Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi but we declined to accept his demand.

“The dictator was even ready to submit a public apology and made four other offers but we rejected them,” he claimed.

The other three offers as stated by Mr Asad were: payment of blood money to the heirs of those killed in the military operation, rebuilding of Jamia Hafsa from his own pocket at its old place - the children library - and to be witness against those who were responsible for the military operation.

“We rejected it and we announce to continue the legal and constitutional struggle against all those responsible for the military operation on Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa in 2007,” Mr Asad said.

The Shuhada Foundation also announced to lodge a fresh FIR against Gen Musharraf and other military officers of that time, the then prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, and other cabinet members for the 2007 military operation.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016