LAHORE: A Muslim cleric who has led anti-blasphemy rallies in Pakistan has been charged with sexually abusing a student at a religious school, police said on Thursday.
Police said charges were filed against Aziz-ur-Rehman after cellphone videos purporting to show the cleric forcing himself on the student went viral on social media.
The case has caused a stir in Pakistan, a mainly Muslim country, and outrage on social media, with many calling for a strict punishment for the cleric.
Rehman denied the accusation of sexual abuse in a video statement issued on social media, saying that he was drugged before the filming of the alleged abuse. He said this was part of a plot to throw him out of the seminary, the Jamia Manzoor-ul-Islamia.
Rehman, who is in his 60s and is a member of a prominent religious political party, has worked as a custodian of the seminary for several years.
The seminary said the cleric has been expelled from his position, and Wafaq-ul-Madaris, the body that oversees the religious schools system, said it has stripped him off his title, mufti, which means a religious scholar.
A police spokesperson said police could not locate the cleric when they visited the seminary after the student filed the sexual abuse complaint.
The student, who police said appeared to be in his early 20s, said in his complaint that he has given several video and audio recordings to help police investigate, adding he had gone into hiding because he had received death threats.
The police said the student had told them that the cleric had been abusing him for several years. He said he started filming the abuse after he got sick of it and sent the video clips of the abuse to the head of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris.
It was not clear how the video clips began circulating on social media.
Rehman has often been seen in photos and videos of anti-blasphemy rallies held in recent months to denounce publication of cartoons in France depicting the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Over 2.2 million children attend religious seminaries in Pakistan. Sexual abuse cases are often hushed up, although some parents have recently been coming forward to file complaints.
A nongovernment organization called Sahil that works to stop child abuse reported 2,960 cases of child sex abuse in 2020 throughout the country, not just in seminaries.
Pakistani cleric charged with sexual abuse at religious school
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Pakistani cleric charged with sexual abuse at religious school
- The 60-something cleric has been expelled from his position at the seminary and stripped off his title of 'mufti'
- Police could not locate the cleric when they visited the religious school after the student filed the sexual abuse complaint
Customs seize narcotics, smuggled goods, vehicles worth $4.9 million in southwest Pakistan
- Customs seize 22.14 kg narcotics, consignments of smuggled betel nuts, Hino trucks, auto parts, says FBR
- Smuggled goods enter Pakistan’s Balochistan province from neighboring countries Iran and Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs seized narcotics, smuggled goods and vehicles worth a total of Rs1.38 billion [$4.92 million] in the southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said in a statement.
Customs Enforcement Quetta seized and recovered 22.14 kilograms of narcotics and consignments of smuggled goods comprising betel nuts, Indian medicines, Chinese salt, auto parts, a ROCO vehicle and three Hino trucks in two separate operations, the FBR said. All items cost an estimated Rs1.38 billion, it added.
Smuggled items make their way into Pakistan through southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
“These operations are part of the collectorate’s intensified enforcement drive aimed at curbing smuggling and dismantling illegal trade networks,” the FBR said.
“All the seized narcotics, goods and vehicles have been taken into custody, and legal proceedings under the Customs Act 1969 have been formally initiated.”
In the first operation, customs officials intercepted three containers during routine checking at FEU Zariat Cross (ZC) area. The containers were being transported from Quetta to Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, the FBR said.
The vehicles intercepted included three Hino trucks. Their detailed examination led to the recovery of the smuggled goods which were concealed in the containers.
In the second operation, the staff of the Collectorate of Enforcement Customs, Quetta, intercepted a ROCO vehicle at Zariat Cross area with the local police’s assistance.
The driver was interrogated while the vehicle was searched, the FBR said.
“During interrogation, it was disclosed that drugs were concealed inside the spare wheel at the bottom side of the vehicle,” it said.
“Upon thorough checking, suspected narcotics believed to be heroin was recovered which was packed in 41 packets, each weighing 0.54 kilograms.”
The narcotics weighed a total of 22.14 kilograms, with an estimated value of Rs1.23 billion in the international market, the FBR concluded.
“The Federal Board of Revenue has commended the Customs Enforcement Quetta team for their effective action and reiterated its firm resolve to combat smuggling, illicit trade and illegal economic activities across the country,” it said.
