Islamabad session courts blast: Killed additional session judge Rafaqat Awan rejected application for registration of case against Musharraf in Lal Masjid case
ISLAMABAD: The additional sessions judge Rafaqat Awan, who was among those 11 persons who lost their lives in an attack on district courts in Islamabad on Monday morning, once refused to register a first information report (FIR) against former President Pervez Musharraf following the Lal Masjid operation.
Haroon Rasheed, the son of the deceased Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, filed an appeal before the additional sessions judge Rafaqat Awan on April 23 last year, asking him to register an FIR against Musharraf.
However, Judge Rafaqat Awan rejected the appeal and described that as an attempt to gain cheap popularity.
While challenging the trial court’s order, the petitioner approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to register an FIR against Musharraf. Aabpara station house officer has also been named as a respondent.
The petitioner maintained that he had lost his father but the trial court had observed the petition was filed to get “cheap popularity” which was unfair. He maintained that over 400 witnesses had recorded their statements before the Lal Masjid Commission pointing fingers at former president Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and his cabinet for launching the operation.
The Lal Masjid operation was launched in 2007 on the order of then president and army chief Musharraf. The operation ended in a bloody eight-day siege killing at least 58 Pakistani troops and seminary students.
