Sufi Mohammad to be tried only after adequate proof against him is gathered: ANP

PESHAWAR - Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Mohammad would only be tried after adequate evidences are gathered against him, an Awami National Party (ANP) leader has said.

“Sufi will be tried only after collection of adequate proofs against him. The government has already collected several evidences and more are being gathered. He will be put on trial after the completion of this process,” The News quoted ANP Secretary Information Zahid Khan, as saying.

However, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti said no witnesses were needed to prosecute Mohammad for his links with the Taliban.

“We may not need witnesses against him. He publicly spoke against the constitution, the judiciary, misled the provincial government, has links with the Taliban and has been facilitating the group,” Hoti said.

Hoti said the government would soon frame charges against the 75-year old cleric, but failed to set a date for it.

“After gathering the required information, we will frame charges against him formally,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mohammad, who was arrested on Sunday, has been shifted to Peshawar’s Central Prison.

“He is going to be shifted to Central Prison Peshawar and not to any hospital,” a top police official said on conditions of anonymity.

According to the sources, the banned TNSM has decided to file a case challenging Mohammad’s arrest along with his sons Rizwanullah and Ziaullah.

The TNSM chief is the father-in-law of Pakistan Taliban commander Fazlullah, who has masterminded a two-year uprising that has left the once picturesque Swat Valley ravaged.

Pakistan had released Mohammad from a six-year jail term last year after he had agreed to work for a peaceful solution in Taliban-infested areas.

The elderly cleric had brokered a deal under which Sharia law was the key demand. But the deal fell through after the insurgents refused to put down their arms. (ANI)