Author:
Publication: the Telegraph
Date: October 18, 2001
Pakistani authorities have registered
a complaint of treason against a leading pro-Taliban Muslim leader, police
said today, but his party officials said such a move would not deter their
anti-US campaign.
Police said a complaint of treason
had been registered by the local authorities against Maulana Fazlur Rehman,
head of the pro-Taliban Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) party, on October 14,
after he tried to "incite" people against the Pakistani army and the police.
Rehman, under house arrest for more
than a week for leading violent agitation against the US strikes on Afghanistan's
ruling Taliban, was briefly allowed to attend a meeting on the anniversary
of the death of his father on Sunday.
It was there that he reportedly
made the remarks, the cause of the complaint. Police from the town of Dera
Ismail Khan said Rehman remained under house arrest but there were no orders
to arrest him formally. Rehman's brother and another cleric have also been
named in the complaint, called a First Information Report (FIR), the basis
for any further legal and investigative proceedings.
There was no immediate comment from
the government on whether it would follow up on the complaint. The other
two named have not been arrested and police sources said they have no immediate
orders to take such action. "We think the government is itself trying to
inflame the sentiments of the people by charging Maulana of treason," said
JUI's vice-president Hafiz Hussain Ahmed from the southwestern city of
Quetta, scene of violent anti-US demonstrations since the start of US air
strikes on Afghanistan on October 7.
"These cases with not stand in our
way," he added, referring to strikes and rallies JUI, along with other
Muslim parties, are holding daily in different cities and towns of Pakistan.
"We have so far not directly threatened
the government, nor have we started any civil disobedience ... but things
can spin out of control if the first two tiers of the leadership of the
party are not allowed to lead the workers," Ahmed added.
