NOWSHERA:A local court on Tuesday turned down the Punjab police’s request for ordering exhumation of the body of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq.

The development comes as the family of the slain JUI-S leader produced a Darul Uloom Haqqania religious edict (fatwa), which declared the exhumation of a human body for postmortem an un-Islamic act.

Civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate Mohammad Wali Mohmand pronounced the order of accepting the plea of Maulana Sami’s son, Maulana Hamidul Haq, after listening to both parties.

Accepts slain JUI-S leader’s contention that body’s exhumation un-Islamic, will cause unrest

Mr Hamid, the acting JUI-S chief, submitted a written reply to the application of the Punjab police along with the fatwa, which declared that the body’s exhumation for postmortem was improper as the deceased was an international scholar and religious leader.

It added that that the deceased’s legal heirs shouldn’t allow the body’s exhumation and instead, they should resist any such move.

Mr Sami, who was killed in his Rawalpindi house on Nov 2 under mysterious circumstances, didn’t undergo postmortem as his family declined it.

The Rawalpindi police had requested the Rawalpindi district and sessions judge to allow exhumation of Mr Sami’s body for investigation into the killing.

The judge referred the plea to the local judge of Nowshera, who referred the matter to judicial magistrate Mohammad Wali.

A panel of lawyers consisting of Riaz Ali Khan, Abdullah Shah, Abidullah, Azmat Gilani, Sarmad Khattak, Fida Mohammad, Mohammad Sarir, Suhail Khattak and others appeared before the court on behalf of Mr Hamid.

The petitioner warned that the exhumation of Mr Sami’s body would cause a law and order situation and if that happened, the district administration would be responsible for it.

He said the legal heirs of the slain JUI-S chief had formally requested the authorities not to exhume the body and the request was accepted.

The petitioner said the deceased was revered by his followers and therefore, the exhumation of his body by the government would create unrest among them.

He also insisted that Islam declared the exhumation of the body of any of its followers an un-Islamic act.

Mr Hamid told Dawn that the police had failed to trace the killers of his father even after quizzing his close friends, family members and employees.

He said the deceased’s personal secretary, Ahmad Shah, had been investigated by different team but nothing had come out against him.

“Ahmad Shah is still in the custody of an intelligence agency for investigation,” he said.

Mr Hamid claimed that the investigators had found ‘international conspirators’ to be behind the killing and would disclose details after completing investigation.

Members of the Punjab police told Dawn that investigation into the killing was ‘going in the right direction’ and that they would bring it to the logical end.

Mohammad Asghar from Rawalpindi adds: Mr Hamid met senior police officers in the garrison city to discuss the investigation.

He assured the police officers of complete cooperation in investigation.

The police said they had received the data of the JUI-S chief’s cellphone and were investigating the people, who were in contact with Mr Sami in the last moments of his life.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2018