Nilofar Bakhtiar serves legal notice on radical cleric

Islamabad, June 21 (UNI) Former Pakistan tourism minister Nilofar Bakhtiar has served a legal notice on the head of the 'Sharia court', established by the radical Lal Masjid administration in Islamabad, seeking his apology for damaging her reputation and political career by issuing a fatwa against her.

In the notice served on Mufti Mohammad Yunus through her counsels, Ms Bakhtiar said she would initiate civil and criminal proceedings against him and 'the culprits behind him', if an apology was not tendered within one week, the Dawn newspaper said.

The 'court', established in the mosque by its chief administrator Maulana Abdul Aziz in April, had issued its first decree against Ms Bakhtiar for hugging a Frenchman after paragliding in Paris, saying that Islam did not allow such action.

The counsel for Ms Bakhtiar, who resigned after the issuance of the fatwa, contended that her conduct was in good faith and the act was like one between a 'father' and a 'daughter'.

In European countries and in some remote areas of Pakistan, being embraced by elders was like for greeting and regard and it did not bear germs of immorality, as conceived by the cleric.

'' It is you and your evil thinking which has created, converted and portrayed the innocent act as something immoral and un-Islamic,'' Ms Bakhtiar conveyed through her counsels.

The counsels challenged the authority of the 'so-called Sharia court' to issue a decree stating that, '' despite the fact that they have neither the requisite qualification of a 'mufti' or a Sharia court nor have any authority to issue a decree, it is surprising that they did not give Ms Bakhtiar an opportunity to explain her disputed conduct.'' UNI