Former Interior Minister and a central PPP leader Major General Naseerullah Babar (Retd) has said cases against Lal Masjid clerics under terrorism laws would be welcomed only if the government pursues it vigorously and responsible elements punished.
According to press reports two top cleric brothers of Lal Masjid namely Maulana Abdul Aziz and Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi and nearly 70 students of the Madressah Hafsa were booked by the Islamabad police on charges of terrorism and kidnapping of nine persons including six Chinese women and keeping them in illegal confinement.
In a statement the former Interior Minister however, apprehended that the press reports about booking the clerics under terrorism charges may have been planted only to serve as a false assurance on the eve of Interior Minister's forthcoming visit to China. He asked the civil society to closely monitor and pressure the regime to pursue the case against the clerics.
"The Party is deeply concerned and condemns the brazen act of militancy and lawlessness against the citizens of Pakistan's great friend China and the regime's inexplicable inaction to bring the perpetrators to justice."
He said it appeared that the regime had abandoned its responsibility and yielded before the fanatics and extremists not only in the tribal and settled areas of the country but even the federal capital Islamabad. He said the emergence of Al-Badar and Al-Shams groups on the political horizon played havoc in 1971 leading to the break-up of the country. Groups like Lashkar-e-Islami (LI), Lashkar e Tayyaba and Jaish Mohammad and the Lal Masjid brigade were now playing havoc with the country and harming our relations with foreign powers, he said.