LAHORE: A sessions court on Wednesday issued a notice to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) on a petition seeking the registration of a case against Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for allegedly making a controversial statement about security personnel.

Fazl made the statement during a recent party rally in Punjab’s Kasur, where he spoke about the security situation and terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In this context, he referred to the frequent mention of soldiers’ martyrdom, adding that security personnel were drawing salaries to fight for the country.

The petition, filed by citizen Mohammad Waqar, was heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge Malik Latif. Advocate Mudassar Chaudhry, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, submitted that his client had watched a speech by the JUI-F chief on social media in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks about Pakistan’s martyrs.

The counsel argued that the speech hurt the petitioner’s sentiments as well as those of the general public. He added that the JUI-F chief made the remarks during a public gathering and his statement had also caused distress to the families of the martyrs.

He further pointed out that an application for registration of a case against the JUI-F chief had been filed with the NCCIA director, but no action had been taken so far.

The petitioner prayed the court to direct the NCCIA director to act in accordance with the law on his application and register a case against Fazl over the alleged remarks.

After hearing the arguments, the judge sought a reply from the agency by August 17.

The JUI-F chief’s statement drew rebukes from ministers, mostly from the ruling PML-N, who considered it to be insensitive and diminishing the sacrifices of martyrs.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif reacted to the controversial statement on Monday night in a post on social media, expressing disappointment and terming Fazl’s words “unfair”. Asif said he expected a seasoned politician to be more responsible in his choice of words.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal posted on X that “To describe such an unparalleled sacrifice as merely a compensation for a salary is neither fair, nor in accordance with the demands of ethics, and nor aligned with Islamic teachings.”