Malik Ishaq of Lashkar e Jhangvi Set free due to "lack of evidence".

[Leader]

Malik Ishaq was accused of being the key planner of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team. His associate accused namely, Javed Anwar, Abdullah and Ubaidur Rehman had been arrested from Shahdara. It was claimed that the men had confessed to their involvement in the cricket team attack. Some officials informed the press on condition of anonymity that Malik Ishaq enjoyed the Punjab government’s financial assistance ever since the Sharifs came to power in 2008. The accused terror kingpin belongs to the banned Sunni outfit LeJ and has been nominated in 44 cases in which 70 people were killed. During imprisonment, he used to receive a monthly stipend from the Punjab government. He and his family have been well looked after. No wonder he had a big grin on his face. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah confirmed the disbursement but clarified that it was given to Ishaq’s family, not him, as per the orders of the court. However, further investigations revealed that neither were there any such disbursements during General Musharraf’s regime nor was there any court order pertaining to the matter. Rana Sanaullah always looks very comfortable in telling lies and giving disinformation, which was proved once again. The Punjab government’s financial support to the terrorist was purely meant to protect the PML-N’s vote bank and the street mafia in its favor. Earlier Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has got the support of banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba in the by-polls in Jhang. Rana Sanaullah had visited Jhang few days back and held meeting with banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba leader Mohammad Ahmed Ludhyanvi for getting support for by-polls at PP-82.

the real culprits were those who were suppose to be on duty at the day, but were absent...but again typical investigation.... why dont the trial of those police officers ever taken place ? and in fact they are doing their "duty" right now.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

what I am going to say now might be shocking for many people if not all.
But I mean no disrespect and don’t mean to cause a flame and offence. But it is important that I share with everyone who cares about peace and wishes this terrorist nightmare to end.


Actually the issue is, the minorities of Pakistan have been on the receiving end for a very long time from these kind of organisations. Its only recently when the same terrorists increased the stakes and declared an open season for all Pakistanis since the war on terror commenced. Someone not affected by them will ask, Why is that so? well the likes of LeJ & Sipah Sahabah were encouraged due to the indifference of the Pakistani majority and the shameless record of the state to control them and in some cases were actually openly or secretly supporting them.

I wont be surprised to find some major terrorist players under the protection of Rana Sanah Ullah and Raiwand palace, if the government agencies one day do build up the courage to raid them they will find that the Punjab government it self is hiding these savages.



Since the majority of the casualties now consists of the Pakistanis that belong to the mainstream faith and religion suddenly we have Imran Khan, Jamaat Islami, Nawaz league and right wing media awakening to the fact that there was a problem of terrorism. So a lot of emotional speeches are made, marches are organised and column are written urging the state to stop cooperation with USA on WoT which might make TTP to reconsider and go back to old days of killing only the “Kafirs”.

Why? Because Shia, Ahemdis, Ismaili, Christians and others don’t count as much Pakistanis or human… In the past when the minorities were burying their dead and grieving the slain fathers and brothers after such attacks, they also had to suffer the insensitive remarks from the authorities that these attacks were “just” sectarian and nothing else.. As if, saying that the minorities have to learn and live with it and not make a big fuss out of it.

But now the TTP are not discriminating in their attacks so naturally the majority of Pakistanis are furious with the army and the “Generals” for joining America’s WoT (and selling our sovereignty for few million dollars), while the same organisations under the name of TTP get a very reluctant criticism even after spilling the blood of almost 30k Pakistanis, some of us are debating if its our war or not while some of us are doing their best to present Afghan Taliban as god send angles, the same angels of purity and piety come all the way from Afghanistan to join their TTP brothers in the seasonal cull of the shia habitants of the Parachinar in Kurram agency . No one brings in the question of “sovereignty” in this regard when the population of that godforsaken place is cut off from the rest of Pakistan and the so called convoys under government “protection” get ambushed by the Taliban Zealots that don’t even spare women and children while discharging their weapons. The residents are forced to use the indirect route of Afghanistan to travel back into rest of Pakistan, while the next “US drone strike” that kills 2 or 3 Taliban rats “bravely hiding among the tribal’s gets the front news of the news channels and papers, the similar attack by TTP fanatics on the Parachinar residents only gets a reluctant mention, a single or two column in papers and a few seconds in news bulletin before going to commercial break.




Ahmedis have had to face even worse atrocities but sadly our righteous right wing media and writers find it necessary to take a swipe at their faith while describing any atrocity against them.
With this mindset it is understandable that the media and right wing parties are leading the campaign of leaving this war on terror which will mean that the LeJ/ SSP will stop attacking indiscriminately just like the past golden days and will only concentrate on Shia, Ahmedis & Christians.

As long as we continue to have this narrow mind set and don’t accept and treat people of other faiths and religion with respect or accept their right to live in peace, sadly my fellow Pakistanis, TTP will not stop killing indiscriminately and also Americans wont leave this region.
Consider this a divine retribution for all the past sufferings of the minorities and the weak. Change your mindset, respect people for who they are and accept the fact that people can have differing faiths and only then this sectarian turned regional/ global terrorist demons will die out of starvation from the fresh recruits.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

I don't buy there was no evidence... His tie up alone to the LeJ is enough to throw him in Jail. There is no justice in Pakistan.

sir do you remember slain Col Imam's video speeches where he was mentioning "lashker e jhangvi Al Alamiyah"? and giving reasons for his abduction at their hands and reading their demands to stop the war on terror etc?

LeJ officially declared itself to represent Al Qaeda in Pakistan. some say how a man in captivity can plan attacks, how naive of my fellow Pakistanis, how come our jails can prevent the kingpins from controlling their organisations when even the American & European jails cant stop the mafia and mob bosses from running their business and directing hits on people?

 

[Guest01]

when I saw inaction and severe resistance to arrest hafiz saeed who is the head of LeT or the new JuD, i was aghast with disbelief and anger. But today having learned about this terrorist and his release, it seems to me more as a perennenial national problem in Pakistan This is surely a country thing.

 

[B@KH]

these cases are sensitive and politicized, so the strategy should be to avoid public hue and cry and making of hero or villains for nothing...

hardly makes any sense, the last year violence in Karachi was all put on one dude by police.... and that too after his death...yes brother of Jindullah founder Regy.

so, its just the same here... sab malba aik hi per dal do... just like street crimes law... if you are caught snatching a phone, whether be it your first or third...all 200 snatching cases are on you !!

terrorism issue is completely a different issue and it is basically supported by saudi+usa. once usa+saudi are gone or change their policies the terrorists will be rooted out. till then they will continue to enjoy their hay days as they are part of the establishment. well said by other fellows about the terrorists in Post no. 32, 33, 34.

 

[53fd]

It is absolutely pathetic that our prosecution is falling flat on its face.
This is the problem that has been the bane of all out counter terrorist and counter insurgency operations.
I have seen this happen in many cases now!!!

It is the sole reason that we are unable to eliminate the terrorist breeding grounds.
We need such big shots to be convicted and punished in order to eliminate the terrorist mindset from the religious extremists and cripple their network of hate.

A very sad thing to see.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the “lack of evidence” | | DAWN.COM

We are ready to lay down lives (jaan bhee hazir hai) for the honour of the companions of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader Malik Ishaq said after he was freed from jail amid Kalashnikov-wielding supporters on a Land Cruiser motorcade. He did not specify whose lives he was talking about. But the Shia know.

The influential co-founder of a Sipah-e-Sahaba breakaway group now linked with al Qaeda and the Taliban received a stipend from the Punjab government while he was in jail, and like other key terror suspects, was allowed to use a mobile phone.

Malik Ishaq had told an Urdu daily in October 1997 that he was involved in the killing of 102 people. He was arrested the same year, and eventually charged with 70 of those murders in 44 different cases, including the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009. Last week, the Supreme Court released him because of “lack of evidence”.

Among those who fear the consequences is Fida Hussain Ghalvi, a key witness in a case in which Ishaq was accused of killing 12 members of a Shia family during a Majlis in 1997. When Ghalvi and three other men identified Ishaq, he told them in front of a judge that “dead men can’t talk”. Five witnesses and three of their relatives were killed during the trial. Ishaq was acquitted because of “lack of evidence”.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg. A more remarkable case involving the anti-Shia leader from southern Punjab was the bombing of an Iranian culture centre in Multan, also in 1997. Eight people were killed. When investigating officer Ijaz Shafi persuaded two witnesses to appear in court, his car was sprayed with 13 bullets. Anti-Terrorism Court judge Bashir Ahmed Bhatti convicted Ishaq but the Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2006 because of “lack of evidence”.

In March 2007, the same judge, scheduled to hear another case against Malik Ishaq, was on his way to the court when a remote-controlled bicycle bomb exploded near his car, killing his driver and two policemen. Ishaq was charged with planning the bombing. Two years later, the prosecution’s witnesses suddenly turned hostile. Ishaq was acquitted in April 2009, because of “lack of evidence”.

In that context, it is very surprising that one of the Supreme Court judges who released Malik Ishaq on bail last week scolded the prosecution and said the case was weak. The same judge, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, was part of a Lahore Hight Court bench that had asked the police to close down cases of hate speech and incitement to violence, against Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed. The bench would simply not accept that Jamaatud Dawa was another name for Lashkar-e-Taiba, because the new name was not present on a certain list.

Malik Ishaq praised the Supreme Court after his release and said justice had been done. And that is ironic. Why do these people refer to the modern secular notions of law and justice when they do not believe in them? Because that is what gives them a decisive advantage. They have access to multiple epistemic devices. They can identify and exploit weak spots in our legal structure from outside, while simultaneously carrying out practices that are only justified in their own context. And that is why they are winning.

The state and its judiciary, on the other hand, insist on upholding the singular letter of law. They believe that is justice. But justice must question itself. Why should we abide by laws when dealing with people who simply do not believe in those laws? Why should we allow them the privileges of our legal system when they are fighting to replace it with their own?

Fk you CJ... I wish there had been no lawyer's movement, & Musharraf would have been in power. At least all the terrorists you have released since your restoration would have been in jail.

 

[lover_of_Ahlulbayt]

Allah kee lanat hoh on these punjabi taleban per (aka LeJ and SSP) who are pure sectarian organizations and anti-shia! So much blood of innocent people is on these organizations and had MUSHY been in power, not one of these bastards would have been released!

And now this lanatee CJ and current pathetically incompetent government is releasing these bastards!

 

[Guest01]

Allah kee lanat hoh on these punjabi taleban per (aka LeJ and SSP) who are pure sectarian organizations and anti-shia! So much blood of innocent people is on these organizations and had MUSHY been in power, not one of these bastards would have been released!

And now this lanatee CJ and current pathetically incompetent government is releasing these bastards!

Why blame Justice cHaudhary when it is this justice Khosa who has a habit of letting off terrorists. He was the judge in haafiz saeed (LeT) case and also now in this one. Some judges in pakistan like this justice khosa are decisively pro religious extremism and rooting for sectarian murders.

 

[Irfan Baloch]

@ lover & Guest
Pakistani Justice needs to go a long way to match to a minimum standards of provision of Justice fairly & impartially. There is an important thing to watch out before blaming the judiciary (even for valid reasons). The legislature has to formulate laws and bridge gaps and holes in the laws to help both the law enforcement and the judiciary with implementing them and punishing the right people.

Having said that, we Pakistanis have this chronic problem of discrediting our opponents for whatever the cost. The prime example is CJ Chaudhary who out of his personal grudge with the Musharraf government made his point by freeing the terrorists of red mosque just to show a middle finger. After the Abbotabad operation which resulted in the world ridding itself of a coward (thanks to Americans) the same judiciary and lawyers staged his funerals during official working times in the court premises, daring the government to stop them so that they can stage another nascence march.


The Police sometimes says that they prefer that the robbers and terrorist die instead of getting arrested because almost in 100% cases they walk away laughing in the faces and they blatantly threaten the police and the witnesses in front of the judges, the same judges will look the other way or cower although in other instances they would invoke the suo motu action out of boredom on things that hardly concern them.

So in short, the release of this mass murderer (literally) is no surprise, unless he doesn’t go underground, don’t be surprised to see him along with Hafiz Saeed, Jamat Islami leadership or Red Mosque Molana Aunty.

 

[pak-marine]

Was bound to happen i guess people like him knows their fate , one day he will be taken down by unknown gunmen or a ied etc the same happened to his predecessors' people will never know the truth , the case cant be tried , truth is to bitter and we dont have the stomach yet to digest it... No justice will never be served , shame on investigators for making such weak cases , also the damn judiciary there are people stuck in jails for charges such as 109 (which is Awaragardi) from years ..

 

[pak-marine]

@ irfan baluch :: Sir g thanks for the excellent post you have said it all