'Burqa cleric' seeks imposition of Sharia law in Pak

An extremist Pakistani cleric, who was caught while attempting to escape from a mosque in burqa during a military crackdown, today filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking imposition of Sharia law in the country.
Lal Masjid (Red mosque) cleric Abdul Aziz last month launched a campaign for Islamic laws, getting media attention after years of wilderness.
Aziz filed the petition through a lawyer under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
In the petition, he urged the court to "direct federal and provincial governments to take steps as required under the Constitution in order to enable the lives of Muslims in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran."

He also requested the apex court to "direct the state under Article 25-A to provide free and compulsory education to all children between ages of five to 16 years."
He asked the court to direct President Mamnoon Hussain and provincial governors to present a report before the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly on the observance and implementation of the Principles of Policy in the constitution.

Undeterred by the official warning, the cleric said that that "Pakistan was created for the Islamic system but has been far away from Islam since birth."
The petition came in the wake of reports that he once met the California shooter Tashfeen Malik who along with her husband last week killed 14 people in America.

According to sources, pressure is mounting on the government to check the activities of the cleric who has been responsible for extremism in the country.
Aziz survived more than week of intense fighting between the security forces and his armed supporters in 2007 when army stormed the Red Mosque in the heart of the city.
His younger brother Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was killed. Aziz tried to sneak out wearing burqa when government halted attack to let the female students and women caught in the mosque.
He was arrested and charged for several cases ranging from murder, to high treason but due to known reasons he was allowed to walk free out of jail and later permitted to take charge of the mosque which is an official property.