Islamabad - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up today (Monday) Shohada Foundation of Pakistan Trust’s (SFPT) petition in which it has alleged that law enforcing agencies are harassing its members. A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice IHC Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi will take up the petition moved by trustee and spokesperson of SFPT Ihtesham Ahmed through his counsel Tariq Asad Advocate.
In the petition, he alleged that law enforcing agencies were harassing the members of SFPT after appearance of a video which was prepared and issued by the female students of Jamia Hafsa within Jamia who had pledged their support for the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The petitioner contended before the IHC that the video was never approved by the SFPT and Jamia Hafsa students issued the said video on their own. The SFPT has a welfare agenda for the families of martyrs and victims of terrorism and drone strike and it has no connection whatsoever with the militant group ISIS.
He adopted before the court that after preparation of the video and publication of a news item in this connection, the law enforcement agencies had been harassing the petitioner and he came to know that secretary interior has ordered for 30 days confinement of the petitioner for preventing law and order situation.
Ihtesham cited secretary ministry of interior, district magistrate Islamabad, inspector general of Islamabad police and SHO Koral police station as respondents.
He stated that the students of Jamia Hafsa had issued a message in Arabic language that says: “We thank Allah Almighty for bestowing upon us the great tidings of ISIS. We praise Allah ...O brothers you have protected our honour and we pray for you every night here, in the land of Pakistan. Some people speak ill of you and contribute to the power of America and its allies. Do not be sad about this, on the contrary reveal on this, because Allah has distinguished between the believers and the hypocrites. O brothers, we implore you to strike them upon their necks, and strike from them every fingertip. So that the infidels will not be able even to look at the land of the Muslims. Cut off the hands that they extend toward our modest sisters, and tear apart the bodies of those who want to instate the law of Satan in the land of Allah. You must avenge the death of Sheikh Osama Bin Laden and the others. Do not stop now. Take avenge of the students of Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid. May Allah annihilate America and those who help. Finally, we congratulate Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Hussain Al-Qureshi Al-Baghdadi and the Mujahideen in the Islamic State, on the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate in most areas of Iraq and Syria. We implore all our Mujahideen brothers to unite ranks. Do not heed the propaganda of the infidels and the hypocrites. Oh Allah, instate the Islamic Caliphate regime in Pakistan and everywhere.”
The petitioner maintained that the video was issued on 26th November, 2014 and SFPT clarified its position through a press release saying: “Since law enforcing agencies and the competent courts of law had failed to impart justice in accordance with the provisions of law and the Constitution to the students of Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid, hence the students in desperation issued the video message addressing a jihadi organisation, namely ISIS, to help them for getting them justice.”
He added that the petitioner had no knowledge as to who had issued the video in Jamia Hafsa nor the video was prepared or issued with the consultation of the petitioner.
The petitioner told the court that the officials of law enforcing agencies in uniform in government vehicles have been harassing the members of SFPT for the last five days asking the residents around the Foundation whether the people of Daesh were visiting the office of Foundation.
Therefore, he prayed to the court to restrain the respondents from harassing the SFPT members.