Afghan Taliban flag keeps flying at Jamia Hafsa rooftop

ISLAMABAD: The police have registered criminal cases against Khateeb Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz and his wife Umme Hassan under terrorism as well as charge of inciting the police to disobedience.

Both the Maulana, holding a lethal weapon, and his wife, reportedly threatened policemen who had gone there to remove the Afghan Taliban flags hoisted at the Jamia Hafsa, a seminary run by the cleric’s wife.

The police decided not to remove the Taliban flags to avoid any untoward incident and possible clash between the seminary people and the police party. Sections 506-II, PPC, 11 EE ATA, 7 ATA and 124-A PPC have been added to the FIR No 536/21, registered with the Aabpara police station. Three FIRs have been registered against the cleric, FIR No 457, registered on Aug 12, 2021; FIR No 531, lodged on Sept 16, 2021; and the last, FIR No 536 registered on Sept 19, 2021, with the Aabpara police station on the allegation of hoisting Taliban’s flag on the rooftop of the seminary.

“Leave your disgraceful job and join us because our Taliban are coming here, who will ask you about you activities,” read the FIR, quoting the Maulana as having said, adding that the flags were flown atop the seminary building after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. The Lal Masjid cleric was seen sitting outside the seminary, holding an SMG to stop the police from removing the Taliban flag.

The name of the cleric is already included in the fourth schedule for various anti-state activities. The fourth schedule is a list of proscribed individuals, who are suspected of terrorism and/or sectarianism under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

A legal expert, Nadeem Anjum, said the sections mentioned in the FIRs were harsher one. He said Section 506/II was related to a crime of threatening or causing death or grievous hurt. Anti Terrorism Act 1997, says that 11 EE of the ATA, an activist, office-bearer on an associate of an organisation kept under observation under Section 11D or proscribed under Section 11B.

7 ATA: Punishment for acts of terrorism, whoever commits an act of terrorism under section 6. Section 124-A says, whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards country, he added.