IHC seeks replies from defence, interior ministries in Lal Masjid case

ISLAMABAD: Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), while hearing in a petition for registration of an FIR against Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, his wife Umm-e-Hassan and students of Jamia Hafsa, issued notices to the Ministry of Interior , Ministry of Defence and Abpara police station, seeking their reply.

The IHC bench heard the  petition, filed by one Muhammad Jibran Nasir, seeking registration of FIR against the above mentioned persons for inviting ISIS to avenge the killing of Usama bin Laden and Lal Masjid operation. He filed this petition after his application for registering FIR was first not entertained by the Abpara police station and later dismissed by a subordinate court. The petitioner has contended before the court that Jamia Hafsa, through a video message, has invited ISIS to avenge   bin Laden’s killing and Lal Masjid operation.

He said that Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, in another video message, had endorsed the version of his female students that poses a grave danger to the safety and security of the sate of Pakistan. He contacted Abpara police in this regard, but they refused to lodge FIR. Later, he filed an application in  a civil court which dismissed the same on March 09,2016 . The petitioner has prayed to the court to annul the civil court decision and direct police to register an FIR in this matter.

It is to mention here that an IHC bench on March 29 had dismissed a similar kind of petition where a Karachi resident Syed Khurram Zaki had been seeking from the court to register an FIR against the above said respondents for pledging allegiance to ISIS. The IHC bench had dismissed the same on the issue of ‘locus standi’ and Khurram Zaki then filed an intra court appeal (ICA). A division bench, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb here Monday reserved judgement in this ICA.