(AKI/DAWN) - The administration of the radical mosque in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Lal Masjid has rejected a decision by the city authorities to rebuild four demolished mosques on alternative locations and said the government was not The clerics of the Lal Masjid have increasingly been challenging the government in recent months. The stand-off began over when the city administration demolished some unauthorities mosques in Islamabad. Students from the madrassa or Islamic seminary affiliated to the mosque then proceeded to occupy a children's library in Islamabad in protest against the demolition. They also kidnapped three women and a child for allegedly running a brothel and recently threatened the owners of shop selling videos and CDs carrying material which they say is obscene and vulgar.
However the stand-off appeared to have been somewhat resolved last month after negotiations in which the madrassa students would continue to occupy the children's library until the reconstruction of the mosques that had been torn down for being unauthorised. The person in charge of the Lal Masjid Media Cell, Abdul Qayyum, told the Pakistani daily Dawn that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had two days ago issued a notification saying that it had agreed to reconstruct four out of a total of seven razed mosques on alternative spots in the same areas. “This is the violation of an understanding reached between Lal Masjid and Chaudhry Shujaat a few days ago in which the two sides agreed on rebuilding of mosques at their same plots,” he said.
He said the Lal Masjid administration would not accept the notification, adding that the razed mosques should be constructed at the existing sites. The PML chief told reporters after the meeting that the issue of mosques had been resolved and “sincere steps” had been taken to improve the situation. “Whatever task was entrusted to me has been completed and I hope that all settled issues will be fully implemented. No ‘hidden hand’ will try to sabotage this initiative,” he said.
The deputy cleric of the Lal Masjid and the Jamia Hafsa madrassa Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi said Chaudhry Shujaat had indicated that some ‘high-ups’ were trying to mess up the matters. Earlier at a press conference, Maulana Ghazi said the government was giving a deceptive signal that tribesmen and terrorists would occupy the capital. He said madrassa followers would continue their struggle for the implementation of Sharia in the country to eradicate corruption, nepotism and bribery. “The constitution allows us to make such demand and many government officials had agreed to this,” he said.
Maulana Ghazi said the government should not accept a proposal of Religious Minister Ejazul Haq to invite Imam Kaaba (the prayer leader at Islam's most sacred place of worship in Mecca) to give a decree on the Lal Masjid issue. “He should be invited for a major cause and not for a petty issue of Lal Masjid, and if he comes we will ask him to give his verdict on major issues,” he said.