ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have registered a first information report (FIR) against a central leader of the proscribed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) over sectarian remarks in a rally.
According to sources the FIR had been registered against the ASWJ leader for inciting the attendees of a rally in the capital by using sectarian and anti-Shiite remarks on Thursday.
The remarks were made during the Azmat-i-Sahaba march, which was organized by the Muttahida Sunni Council at Islamabad’s Express Chowk, sources added.
Sources further said the rally was attended by 1,900-2,000 participants, adding that the FIR, was registered on the complaint of Islamabad city magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
According to the FIR registered at Kohsar police station, ASWJ leader Masoodur Rehman Usmani has been booked under Section 295-A of the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR stated that by using inappropriate language, Usmani attempted to fan sectarianism among the public and had incited them.
The registration of the FIR was first reported by Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqat, who in a tweet on Friday said a speaker at the rally was booked for “inciting violence and sectarian hatred”.
Shafqat said a ban was also being imposed on the ASWJ leader for “speaking again in public in the territorial limits of Islamabad”.
یہ میرا فرض ہے۔ لیکن اس فرض کی ادائیگی میں اٹھائے جانے والے اقدامات کو مذہبی، مسلکی اور دیگر تمام تعصبات سے بلند ہو کر دیکھیں۔ اس شہر کے امن و امان میں ہمارا ہاتھ بٹائیے۔ کمین گاہوں میں بیٹھ کر نفرت میں زہر آلود تیر کسی اور وقت کیلیئے اٹھا رکھیئے۔
— Muhammed Hamza Shafqaat (@hamzashafqaat) September 18, 2020
He said, “In order to fulfill this duty and to implement the given code of conduct, I went to meet the organizers of the rally on the stage before it started”.
“So that I can remind them again and again about the security constraints and restrictions and the limitations of the Code of Conduct so that there is no misunderstanding regarding administration,” he added.
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