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Govt bows to Lal Masjid mullahs

* Lal Masjid frees two abducted policemen, four of mullahs’ men to be released on Monday
* Ghazi says remaining two hostages will be freed after all arrested students are released

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Lal Masjid administration on Saturday night freed two of the four policemen who were abducted on Friday in return for four men it said had been detained by the police on false charges. The government agreed to release the four men on Monday.

Sources told Daily Times that a district administration team led by City Magistrate Farasit Ali Khan told the clerics that only four people – former ISI official Khalid Khawaja, Zainullah, Mehrab Hussain and Arif Mahmood – were in police custody, while the clerics claimed that Muhammad Idrees, Abdul Baseer, Amir, Iftikhar, Anwarul Haq, Israrul Haq and Naqeebullah were also in police detention.

The sources said that the government officials told the clerics that they did not know about the seven people and could not ensure their release. The sources said that Lal Masjid’s Ghazi Abdul Rashid told the officials that the other two policemen would remain in captivity until the release of the seven men also on the clerics’ list.

As an assurance to the Lal Masjid clerics that their men would be freed, Tariq Abbasi, judge of a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court, accepted the bails of three madrassa students and Khalid Khawaja, who had been booked for burning CDs and video cassettes at Bhara Kahu.

The defense counsel also submitted a bail application for another madrassa student, Arif Mahmood. The court will take up the case on May 26.

The four men are likely to be released from Adiala Jail tomorrow (Monday). The names of the two freed constables are Muhammad Irshad and Yasir Shah.

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