Islamabad police registered a first information report (FIR) against a central leader of the proscribed Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) for inciting the attendees of a rally in the capital by using sectarian and anti-Shia remarks, it emerged on Saturday.
The remarks were made during the Azmat-i-Sahaba march, which was organised by the Muttahida Sunni Council at Islamabad's Express Chowk on Thursday. The march was attended by 1,900-2,000 participants, according to the FIR, which was registered on the complaint of Islamabad city magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio.
According to the FIR registered at Kohsar police station, a copy of which is available with *Dawn*, ASWJ leader Masoodur Rehman Usmani has been booked under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The FIR stated that by using inappropriate language, Usmani had fanned sectarianism among the public and had incited them.