Taliban threat activist for standing up against Red Mosque cleric

Rasa - Taliban have threatened a Pakistan civil society activist for spearheading a protest movement against the cleric of Red Mosque here who had initially refused to condemn the Peshawar school massacre.

News ID: 1878

Date: 24 December 2014 - 00:10

RNA - Maulana Abdul Aziz initially refused to speak against the horrible attack in Peshawar that killed 148 people, mostly children, resulting in protests outside the mosque in the heart of Islamabad.

Muhammad Jibran Nasir, one of the leaders of the protesters, said that he was threatened by Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman of Taliban splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar for leading the protests, Indian local sources reported.

He posted the recording on the internet which shows Ehsan telling Nasir to stop his protests or he and his family would be targeted by the rebels.

“If the case against Red Mosque cleric is not withdrawn and if you did not stop protests, then don’t forget that you or your family will not be secure,” the caller said.

Nasir later told media that he would not back down from their planned protests on Monday outside the Lal Masjid.

“We are not afraid. We are not backing out,” he said.

A case has been registered against Aziz at the Aabpara police station on Friday, three hours after protesters had gathered outside it demanding the cleric be arrested for supporting Taliban.

Aziz is known sympathiser of Taliban and al-Qaeda and has even named a library in the madrassa after Osama bin Laden.

The Red Mosque had had a series of run-ins with the authorities in Pakistan. The mosque was the scene of a deadly 10-day siege in 2007 between security forces and the followers of Abdul Aziz. The operation against the mosque had caused much outrage in the jihadi circles.

More than 100 people had died in the military take over of the mosque.

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