Maulana Abdul Aziz, an infamous radical cleric, on Sunday hoisted Afghan Taliban flags at a seminary in Islamabad on Sunday, press agency PTI reported citing Pakistan news outlet Dawn. Pakistan police registered a case against Aziz, who also runs the women’s seminary referred to as Jamia Hafsa, and cordoned off the world with an anti-riot unit.
The Islamabad police spotted Afghan Taliban flags on Jamia Hafsa’s rooftops and received open threats from Aziz himself. Aziz, his students and fellow collaborators were booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and different sections of the Pakistan legal code (PPC).
Islamabad police faced taunts, threats
The Islamabad police personnel who reached the spot faced warnings from Aziz, who also allegedly brandished weapons at them. The people inside Jamia Hafsa invoked the name of Taliban and said the enforcement personnel will face dire consequences for his or her intervention.
Seminary students and teachers also taunted the police and led to tensions within the area. this is often the third time since August that Afghan Taliban flags were hoisted within the seminary. The Islamabad deputy commissioner after removing the flags shared an update on Twitter. The enforcement officials took action after residents were terrorized after the flags were hoisted another time .
Islamabad deputy commissioner also said that Abdul Aziz took help of legal lacunae as Pakistan doesn’t criminalise hoisting of any flag due to which no law addresses the difficulty or under which action are often taken.
Aziz, infamous for his role within the Lal Masjid case, where he threatened to overthrow the Pakistan government and impose shariah within the nation. The Pakistan government led by then president Pervez Musharraf ordered the Pakistan Special Forces to storm the establishment which led to the death of quite 100 people and fundamentalist cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi.