ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: The widow of Khalid Khawaja, a former official of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), on Thursday rejected allegations that her husband was part of a conspiracy that led to the Lal Masjid operation in 2007.

Appearing before the Lal Masjid commission, Shamam Khalid claimed that her family had fallen victim to the operation.

Khalid Khawaja was allegedly kidnapped by the Punjabi Taliban in March 2010 and later found dead in the tribal areas.

According to the written reply submitted to the one-man commission of Justice Shehzado Sheikh of Federal Shariat Court by the Islamabad capital territory administration, Khalid Khawaja was very close to Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz and his brother Ghazi Abdul Rashid.

The ICT administration also alleged that Khalid Khawaja had disrupted negotiations for the peaceful settlement of Lal Masjid issue which led to the military operation. As many as 103 people, including 11 military men, were killed during the operation.

However, Shamama Khalid told the commission that her husband wanted to resolve the crisis peacefully but it was the government which did not act wisely.

She said Mr Khawaja remained under the custody of law enforcement agencies for five months till May 2007 when the differences of the government with the Lal Masjid management were at its peak.

She said during this short period of a few months it was not possible for Mr Khawaja to incite the clerics of Lal Masjid to fight the security forces.

She also accused a senior journalist of maligning her husband, adding “his (the journalist’s) irresponsible behaviour caused the murder of her husband.”

Ms Khalid contended that former President Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf had ordered the illegal detention of her husband. “We had also filed damages suits against Musharraf.

“After the death of my husband, we did not pursue the cases and don’t know about their status,” she added.

The commission on Thursday also recorded the statements of journalists and officials of the religious ministry.

It has summoned Pervez Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday (today).