JUI-F leader Mufti Kifayatullah taken into custody in Islamabad

The leader of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Mufti Kifayatullah was detained for 30 days under Section 3 (power to arrest and detain suspects) of Public Order Maintenance (MPO) and transferred to Haripur jail , according to sources in the police confirmed DawnNewsTV on Sunday.

The sources said Mufti Kifayatullah was arrested in the early morning of the E-11 area of ​​Islamabad by the Mansera police with the help of the Islamabad police after the deputy commissioner of Mansera issued his arrest warrants.

Early in the day, conflicting reports emerged about the arrest of Kifayatullah. Ameer from JUI-F Islamabad Abdul Majeed Hazarvi said DawnNewsTV that Kifayatullah was arrested on Sunday morning.

The spokesman for the JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, also confirmed the arrest and said that Kifayatullah had been arrested under Section 3 (power to arrest and detain suspects) of Public Order Maintenance (MPO).

According to Hazarvi, Kifayatullah was arrested at 4 am near Masjid Tooba in the E-11 area of ​​Islamabad. He had been staying in a friend's apartment.

He added that the JUI-F leader was transferred to Haripur prison.

However, Waqaruddin Syed, Deputy Inspector General of Operations (DIG) of Islamabad, strongly denied reports of the arrest of Kifayathullah. In a statement shared by the Islamabad police spokesman, he said that Islamabad police had not conducted any raids or made any arrests.

An order issued on Saturday under Section 3 (1) of the MPO of West Pakistan, by the Office of Deputy Commissioner Mansehra, said the JUI-F leader was found involved in "chanda collection, holding meetings in the corners and inciting the public to participate in the March of Azadi organized by JUI-F ".

"The activities of Mufti Kifayatullah are posing [a] serious threat to public safety that can create disturbances of public tranquility, danger to human life, health and safety.

"Due to this act, a serious lack of sectarian harmony prevails in the district. The situation is becoming a serious public order situation. […]", said the order, adding that DPO Mansehra had requested that warrants be issued for Kifayathullah under Section 3 (1) of the MPO.

"This person can be detained and confined in the Central Jail, Haripur for a period of 30 days from the date of arrest," the order added.

The reasons for detention were listed as:

• It acts in a manner that is detrimental to public order, security and tranquility.
• It has posed a constant threat to law and order that can disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the district.
• He is engaged in activities to deactivate the government's mandate, which represents a threat to public peace / law and order in the district, creating hatred in the masses.

The alleged arrest occurs a few days before the Azadi March party scheduled for October 31.

The "militant wing" of JUI-F has already been banned, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior.

On Saturday, it was reported that the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) had declared the leader, former minister and former senator of the JUI-F, Hafiz Hamdullah, a foreigner, alleging that he had & # 39; obtained fraudulently & # 39; his national computerized identity card (CNIC) that had now been canceled.

Last week, another JUI-F leader, former federal minister Akram Khan Durrani filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking a pre-arrest bond in multiple investigations initiated against him by the National Office of Responsibility (NAB).