Islamabad: A Pakistani court today ordered
the release from detention of three sons of hardline cleric
Sufi Mohammad, who was arrested last month for his links to
the Taliban in Swat, saying the authorities failed to provide
'sufficient proof' of their involvement in acts of terrorism.
The Peshawar High Court accepted a petition from
Mohammad's sons – Rizwanullah, Hayatullah, and Ziaullah –
challenging their detention.
It granted bail to them and ordered that they should be
released from prison if no other cases were pending against
them. The court noted that the government of the North West
Frontier Province had not given 'sufficient proof' of the
three men's involvement in acts of terrorism.
The three men were arrested along with their father,
the head of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Mohammadi,
from their residence in Peshawar on July 22. They were later
sent to prison under the provision of the Maintenance of
Public Order law, which allows people to be detained without
charges being filed against them.
Police in Swat have booked Sufi Mohammad under the
Anti-Terrorism Act and other laws for his links with Taliban
fighters led by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah. He has also
been charged with treason.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 15:45