Pak cleric arrested; booked under terrorism charges for standoff with police

The incident occurred after Maulana Abdul Aziz dodging a ban on him led the Zuhr afternoon prayer in the mosque, commonly known as Lal Masjid, and police tried to arrest him when he came out.

Pakistani police on Thursday booked under terrorism charges a controversial cleric of Red Mosque here for getting into a standoff with the law enforcement authorities. The incident occurred after Maulana Abdul Aziz dodging a ban on him led the Zuhr (afternoon) prayer in the mosque, commonly known as Lal Masjid, and police tried to arrest him when he came out. However, the incident resulted in road blockages by his supporters.

An FIR was filed against him at the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station by its Station House Officer (SHO) Shamsul Akbar on Wednesday.

In the FIR, Aziz has been accused of firing at the police from his vehicle when it was stopped by law enforcing personnel. ''Fortunately, we remained safe [but] the bullets hit the car, causing damage to the car’s body,'' the FIR said.

Earlier, Dawn reported that confusion and lack of clarity persisted over the entire episode as statements and versions from both the police and Lal Masjid failed to answer several questions.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official of the capital administration acknowledged that a team of CTD had gone to the mosque to talk to the Maulana and ask him to present himself for clearing certain queries.

His guards put up resistance and escape in the mayhem to reach his residence nearby.

But soon after, female students of Jamia Hafsa, which is run by the family of the Aziz, blocked several roads, including Jinnah Avenue and the bridge near Kulsoom Plaza, to protest against the attempted arrest of the cleric.