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Thursday March 28, 2024

Bajaur Bar incident: JI likely to suspend membership of local leaders as committee starts probe

By Yousaf Ali
October 05, 2020

PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is likely to suspend the basic membership of some of its key leaders hailing from Bajaur tribal district in the wake of the ugly incident that occurred on the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony of the Bajaur Bar Association on Saturday.

Certain local JI leaders and workers disrupted the event when Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar, a leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), was invited to deliver his speech.

Some videos of the incident went viral on the social media and provided evidence of the intervention by the JI activists. The videos showed the former MNA from Bajaur, Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed, district president of the party Maulana Waheed Gul, former district president Qari Majeed and others jumping onto the stage and pushing the organisers down the rostrum. During the melee, people were pushed and slapped and chairs were thrown. The video clips triggered widespread condemnation and criticism from within the party ranks and the rival political parties besides the common people. It forced provincial president of the party Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan to tender an apology on the incident through a video message. Mushtaq Ahmad Khan also made a phone call to Mohsin Dawar and invited him to visit the JI provincial headquarters in Peshawar. According to JI’s information secretary, Mohsin Dawar accepted the invitation.

Though the timely explanation and apology by the party’s provincial chief managed to do some damage control, some people remained busy on social media to not only keep the incident alive but also continued pouring out their heart against the JI.

The JI formed a three-member committee under its provincial general secretary Abdul Wasi with vice-presidents Noorul Haq and Mohammad Riaz as members to look into the matter, fix responsibility and take action. The committee would hold its maiden meeting today wherein the party leaders seen in the video clips are likely to be suspended and show-cause notices may be served on them. “Our first meeting will be held tomorrow (Monday).

We shall see what exactly happened and who is actually responsible for the incident,” said Abdul Wasi, the committee head, when reached for comments. He said that any decision taken in haste without listening to both the sides would be unjust. “We would look into the matter meticulously and take action in a fair and transparent manner without taking into consideration the fact that they are our party leaders and workers,” he maintained.

Sahibzada Haroonur Rasheed, a central leader of the party, was the first one to go to the rostrum when the stage secretary invited Mohsin Dawar to deliver his speech. He was followed by other leaders and workers of the party as they tried to disrupt the event. Haroonur Rasheed was clearly heard in the video clips saying, “This man won’t speak.” However, when reached for comments, he shrugged off the responsibility for the incident, saying that it was a lawyers’ function and they were just guests there.

When reminded that he could clearly be seen in the video clips, he said: “Yes, it was unfortunate. I don’t know how it happened. But it was not aimed against Mohsin Dawar, but some office-bearers of the bar who violated their agreement.” He didn’t explain the agreement and how it was violated. He said that they didn’t say anything to Mohsin Dawar, rather the party workers rescued him. When asked that actually the whole episode happened right before Mohsin Dawar’s speech and it was definitely an insult to him for which JI should apologise, he said provincial president of the party has approached him and he has taken things into control.

“Now, it is up to the provincial leadership of the party to take any decision. We would obey whatever decision the provincial leadership takes,” he said. The incident provided a chance to JI rivals to castigate the party and put the party workers on the back foot as they are unable to defend the incident. On social media, most are condemning the incident though some are expressing a different opinion.