The Shuhada Foundation Trust, a non-governmental organisation associated with Lal Masjid, saw themselves fit to challenge the legality of the ongoing operation launched by law enforcement agencies and filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the crackdown on terrorists, their facilitators and suspected hideouts. Perhaps the Shuhada Foundation would rather have our law enforcement agencies sit and quietly watch while their colleagues are murdered in cold blood, or innocent women and children suffer silently as their fathers, brothers and sons are murdered in the name of the late Abdul Rasheed Ghazi.
The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s faction Jamaatul Ahrar, issued a statement that the recent bombing in Lahore was carried out as part of ‘Operation Ghazi’ to avenge the killing of Abdul Rasheed Ghazi. On Saturday, Ghazi’s son, Haroon Rasheed Ghazi, released a video statement addressing Jamaatul Ahrar, in an attempt to distance itself from the faction and decried the so called ‘Operation Ghazi’. If Haroon Ghazi was indeed sincere in his efforts to denounce the violence being carried out in his father’s name, he would have thought twice before filing this unpatriotic petition in the first place.
The constituent of the petition stated that the law does not permit such operations. And that they had no legal right to capture or detain Pakistani citizens without due process of law and kill them in violation of their fundamental right to life and liberty guaranteed to them under Article 9 of the Constitution. It is callous to suggest that the state is stripping terrorists of rights when over a hundred have died this month from terrorism. The country is at war and criminals need to be dealt with harshly. The police must be given a free hand, and the judicial system needs to process these cases fast.
Haroon Ghazi in his statement said, “We should come up with a political solution. This bloodshed is not in the interest of anyone. Our stance is very clear; we do not endorse any violent activities.” It seems he does not condemn them either, and would rather condemn the state.