Brig Ali Khan was arrested on 6 May for alleged links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an international Islamic organisation. He is not the first one to be arrested for links with this group which was banned in Pakistan in 2003 for its strong critique on dictator Musharraf’s US aligned policies.
HT proclaims that it is a non-violent group working politically to achieve its goals. Its official website states that “Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a political party whose ideology is Islam. Its objective is to resume the Islamic way of life by establishing an Islamic State that executes the systems of Islam and carries its call to the world.” The US government, according to the Global Security think tank, has found no clear ties between HT and terrorist activity. It has not been proven to have involvement in or direct links to any recent acts of violence or terrorism. Nor has it been proven to give financial support to other groups engaged in terrorism.
Moreover, Multan Bench of Lahore High Court in March, 2005 stated that “HT has shown dissatisfaction on the policies of the [Pakistan] government which is the right of each and every citizen… I am unable to understand as to how distribution of these pamphlets in the general public was termed as terrorism or sectarianism.” Thus, there have been no proven charges of militancy on this organisation, and therefore charging Brig Ali Khan for terrorism is completely wrong.
RAMEEZ RAGHEB
Karachi
Sadly Govt is continuing in policy of censoring any talk of khilafath in its efforts to please American masters.
The efforts of those in power to suppress the logical call for an alternative system of governance or for even debating on one, is ample proof of the regime's cowardice and insincerity.
Comments are closed.