Amid the Malala marriage controversy, a religious leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district has been arrested for allegedly threatening and inciting violence against the Nobel Laureate.
In an interview with Vogue, when asked about marriage, Malala said, “I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?”
The Lakki Marwat District Police Office confirmed that the religious leader was arrested on Wednesday, adding that the cleric Mufti Sardar Ali Haqqani, was arrested after an FIR was lodged against him under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
According to the FIR, a video went viral on social media which showed Haqqani instigating people at a gathering in Peshawar to take the law into their own hands and attack Malala. He was also armed when the incident took place.
The FIR stated, “When Malala comes to Pakistan I will be the first to attempt a suicide attack on her.”
After the FIR was registered, the police raided his house and arrested him.
Malala’s views on marriage sparked a debate in the KP assembly with members of the opposition PPP and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal urging her family to clarify the statement.
The issue was raised by PPP lawmaker from Upper Dir district Sahibzada Sanaullah on a point of order. He demanded that the government should probe into whether the education activist really made those remarks regarding marriage or not.
The member insisted that life partnership was not allowed in any religion and if Malala favoured it, then the stand was condemnable. “She [Malala] should clarify if she has not made that statement,” said the lawmaker, who had quit the Jamaat-i-Islami to join the PPP.