Lal Masjid case: Complainant threatens to sue Punjab CM, Islamabad police chief

ISLAMABAD: The main complainant in the Lal Masjid case has threatened to bring up treason charges against Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Islamabad’s top cop if former president Pervez Musharraf ‘flees’ the country. In a letter sent on Tuesday to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sikandar Hayat, Haroon Rasheed Ghazi complained that the Aabpara police were deliberately avoiding recording his statement. Expressing his concerns the spokesperson for the complainant and Shuhada Foundation of Pakistan (SFP), Hafiz Ehtisham Ahmed said that the court might raise objections to this, saying that the complainant failed to record his statement and Musharraf will be given a clean chit to leave the country. Abdur Rashid Ghazi’s son approached the Aabpara police on Monday for recording his statements and to give ‘evidence’ to the police against Musharraf for his involvement in the alleged murder. However, the police inspector in charge took leave from the police station and avoided meeting him. A SFP official revealed that the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently met with the Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan assuring him that the former president will be given a safe passage out of Pakistan. Haroon Rasheed’s spokesperson accused the Islamabad police of backing this by preparing the grounds for Musharraf’s escape. In his letter to the police chief, Rasheed, too, maintained that the police would tell the court that Musharraf has denied all allegations and that the complainant did not record his statement. He speculated that based on this statement the court would grant bail to the former president and provide him with a safe passage to leave the country. The SFP spokesperson, however, said the IGP has assured them that Musharraf would not be able to leave the country. The top cop has not assigned any police officer for recording the complainants’ statements either. Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.