Clerics against seminary raids

Published March 6, 2008

GUJRANWALA, March 5: The central executive committee of the Pakistan Sharia Council has demanded an independent judicial commission for an inquiry into the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa operation.

At a meeting here on Wednesday, the committee also called for a joint commission consisting of senior judges and parliamentarians to find out the root causes of suicide bombings. It said the government was implicating activists of jihadi organisations and madressah students in these bombings instead of looking into the involvement of foreign agencies in these attacks.

The committee meeting was presided over by Maulana Fidaur Rehman Darkhwasti.

Separately, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Punjab President Maulana Qazi Hamidullah said religious parties would not allow intelligence agencies to pick up their activists or madressah students.

Speaking at a press conference here, Hamidullah called for the release of two seminary students who were picked up by police from Sheranwala Bagh on Feb 25.

RESHUFFLE: The city police officer has reshuffled 14 station house officers “on the recommendation of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) representatives”.

These SHOs had been posted by the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), allegedly to rig the Feb 18 election.

Dawn has learnt that PML-Q’s Rana Shamshad Ahmad Khan, Imranullah Chaudhry, Adil Farooq Khan and Chaudhry Nasir Cheema had got these SHOs posted in their areas before the election. Later, PML-N and Pakistan People’s Party candidates complained to the district returning officer that these SHOs were implicating people in cases.

City Police Officer Khadim Hussain Bhatti however said these SHOs had been transferred on merit. — Correspondent

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