In yet another challenge to the writ of the Pakistan government, militant clerics heading a madrasa here have issued a "fatwa" against Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiyar alleging she was photographed in an "obscene manner" while taking part in a paragliding show in France.
The decree against Bhaktiar, a strong supporter of President Musharraf's "enlightened moderation" was issued by Darul Afta of Lal Masjid, a mosque located in the centre of Islamabad, which also last Friday set up a Qazi court and gave a one month deadline to the government to impose Shariah law in the capital and to close music shops, local daily Dawn reported on Monday.
Clerics Abdul Aziz and Abdur Rashid Gazi, who run the mosque, also asked the Government to "punish and sack" her.
Bhaktiar recently took part in a paragliding show in France and pictures of her being hugged by a paraglider were published in some newspapers.
Lal Masjid runs two madrasas, Jamia Hafsa for girls and Jamia Farida for boys, which houses a few thousand students, who are mostly from Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.
The same madrasa issued a similar Fatwa in 2003-04 against Pakistan military personnel taking part in operations against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants holed up in tribal areas saying that they "were not martyrs and did not deserve religious funeral".
{{/usCountry}}The same madrasa issued a similar Fatwa in 2003-04 against Pakistan military personnel taking part in operations against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants holed up in tribal areas saying that they "were not martyrs and did not deserve religious funeral".
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