A Pakistani court on Dec. 26 issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Maulana Abdul Aziz [3], the head cleric of the Red Mosque [4] (BBC backgrounder [5]) in Islamabad. The court order comes after Aziz was accused of threatening protestors who were unhappy with his support of the Peshawar massacre [6] that resulted in the deaths of around 150 people, most of them children. The cleric stated publicly that the massacre was an understandable action against the army's "un-Islamic operation," and roused further suspicions of alleged pro-Taliban leanings during a sermon [7] when he stated "O rulers, O people in power, if you will commit such acts, there will be a reaction." The issuing of the arrest warrant was met with much public support, but leaders of the Red Mosque are adamant in their resistance, citing a lack of grounds for arrest. Execution of the warrant might be difficult because of reluctance [8] by the police to arrest Aziz following his promise to instigate a country-wide protest should he be taken into custody.
From Jurist [9], Dec. 27. Used with permission.
