ISLAMABAD, July 15: The Aabpara police on Monday remained undecided about registration of a murder case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for the killing of Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed during the July 2007 operation.

The police told the complainant to wait till Tuesday evening as they needed an opinion from its legal branch whether to register the case or not.

In June 2013, Haroon Rasheed, the son of the cleric, approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking directions to the police for the registration of a murder case against the former president for allegedly killing his father and grandmother Sahiba Khatoon.

Mr Rasheed approached the IHC after his application was turned down by the district and sessions court of Islamabad in April this year.

Justice Noorul Haq N. Qureshi of the IHC, while disposing of the petition on July 12, ordered the police to record the statement of the complainant and register an FIR “in accordance with the law if there may be any cognizable offence.”

When Mr Rasheed approached the Aabpara police the same day, he was told that the police had not received the court’s written orders.

On Monday, Mr Rasheed received the short order of the IHC and again approached the police and submitted it along with a complaint against the former president.

Sources in the police said the complainant stated that about 350 witnesses had recorded their statements with the judicial commission of Justice Shahzado Sheikh of the Federal Shariat Court on Lal Masjid operation holding the former military strongman responsible for the operation on the mosque and killing of innocent people, including his father and grandmother.

He alleged that the operation was planned to kill his father but several other people were also murdered.

The sources said the police had sought opinion of its legal branch before the registration of an FIR. The police were also contemplating obtaining a stay from the court against the order, the sources added. “In this regard, senior officers are holding meetings and consulting lawyers,” said the police sources.

Hafiz Ihtasham Ahmed, a spokesman for the Shuhada Foundation of Lal Masjid, told Dawn that the SHO Aabpara, Inspector Qasim Niazi, on Monday asked them to wait till 8pm as he needed an opinion from the police legal branch. However, in the evening the SHO called them and sought more time till 11:30pm, saying the legal opinion had not arrived. But later, he added, the police again asked them to wait till Tuesday evening. “We have told the police that if they did not register the case till Tuesday evening we will be approaching the IHC with a contempt of court petition against them.”

When contacted, Ilyas Siddiqui, the counsel for Gen Musharraf, told Dawn that the allegations against the former military ruler were baseless. He claimed that the police cannot register the FIR on the basis of the application of Mr Rasheed because he had failed to prove that it was a cognizable offence.

“The military had launched the operation on Lal Masjid after the approval of the then federal cabinet and on the request of the Islamabad administration,” he said.

“If the police registered the case against Gen Musharraf in connection with the Lal Masjid operation, the then prime minister and federal ministers, corps commander Rawalpindi, the IGP Islamabad and other senior police and administration officials at that time may also be held responsible for the operation.”