The NWFP government will soon frame charges against Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad and no witnesses may be needed to prosecute him for his links with the Taliban, said NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti on Monday. "We may not need witnesses (against him)... he publicly spoke against the constitution, the judiciary, misled the provincial government, has links with the Taliban and has been facilitating the group," the chief minister told the media.
Police arrested 75-year-old Sufi Muhammad -- who had trimmed his beard and dyed it red -- on Sunday along with three others, including the TNSM chief's sons Rizwanullah and Ziaullah. The men were shifted to the Peshawar Central Prison on Monday.
"After gathering the required information, we will frame charges against him formally," said Hoti, but did not divulge exactly when the formal charges would be brought against the TNSM chief. Military sources told Daily Times the army was not involved in Sufi Muhammad's arrest, as it was a move launched by the provincial government. Peshawar SSP (Operations) Abdul Ghafoor Afridi said Sufi Muhammad had been detained under the Maintenance of Public Order for 30 days.
Intelligence sources said Sufi Muhammad was secretly reorganising the TNSM to the alarm of the provincial government.