Extremist cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz led Eid prayers at Lal Masjid in Islamabad as the police and the administration failed to stop him despite a ban on his entry to the mosque. Aziz defied this ban a week after he succeeded in dodging his arrest.
On Tuesday, the cleric had announced that he would lead the Eid prayers at Lal Masjid, but the authorities took no action despite being aware of his plan.
Dawn quoted officers of the Islamabad Capital Administration (ICT) as saying that they were “helpless” over this issue. They further said that they could not act on their own without getting a go ahead from higher-ups. Another senior officer quoted by Dawn said that the authorities did not want to “make a scene” on Eid, and that taking action against him would have led to trouble for the residents of Islamabad.
Last month, students of Jamia Hafsa held a protest blocking roads in Islamabad to protest his attempted arrest. His guards had resisted when the police came to arrest him, and the cleric successfully evaded arrest.
Later, a video message by his wife called on the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to launch attacks in Islamabad to avenge authorities’ attempts to arrest Abdul Aziz. She was later booked on terrorism and treason charges by Kohsar Police in Islamabad over the video.
