ISLAMABAD: Separate cases were registered against former Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and his wife at the police stations of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Kohsar under different charges, including Anti-Terrorism Act, police said.

One of the cases was registered at the Kohsar police station under section 121 of Pakistan Penal Code (waging or attempting to wage war or abetting waging of war against Pakistan), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) along with ATA 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism), 11-W (printing, publishing or disseminating any material to incite hatred or giving projection to any person convicted for a terrorist act or any proscribed organisation or an organisation placed under observation or anyone concerned in terrorism) and 11(X) (responsibility for creating civil commotion) against the former cleric’s wife and 125 unidentified people, including women.

According to the FIR, on June 21 they blocked Jinnah Avenue and Fazl-i-Haq Road for over six hours. They also forcefully shut down shops and markets.

The cleric’s wife, Umme Hassan, threatened the CTD staff and asked TTP to kill them on sight weather they are in uniform or not, it said.

The other case was registered at the CTD police station under section 324 (murder attempt), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) along with ATA 7 and 11EE (proscription of person) against Maulana Abdul Aziz and four other persons.

According to the FIR, the CTD team in response to a tip intercepted a vehicle for the recovery of weapons at Melody on June 21. Three persons, two of them armed with SMGs, disembarked from the vehicle and one of them started firing at the police.

Maulana Aziz was also sitting in the vehicle against whom several cases of terrorism were registered. Besides, he was also included in the Fourth Schedule of the ATA, it said, adding the cleric also fired at the police from inside the vehicle.

However, the police succeeded to arrest three persons and recovered SMGs from them, the FIR said, adding they failed to produce permit or licence of the weapons.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2023