Pakistan frees Taliban chief’s fatherinlaw

PESHAWAR: Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the founder of a banned militant group and the father-in-law of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Mullah Fazlullah, was released from jail on Monday, eight years after his imprisonment in 2009.

The Peshawar high court ordered his release last week after accepting the octogenarian cleric’s bail application due to his deteriorating health condition.

Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), was arrested in 2009 for hate speech against the government. He has been in jail since his arrest.

In that speech, Sufi Muhammad had termed the Constitution “un-Islamic” and demanded enforcement of the Sharia law.

At the time of his arrest, the TNSM chief was exercising much influence and had even stopped regular courts from functioning in Malakand, especially Swat.