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| India-Pakistan |
| PM asks Lal Masjid to release women, children |
| 2007-07-09 |
| Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Sunday once again asked the Lal Masjid administration to immediately release any children, women and other hostages and surrender themselves before the law enforcement agencies. Talking to reporters here at the Relief and Facilitation Centre set up at Sports Complex after handing over the first batch of 34 students of Lal Masjid, he said the government wanted to resolve the Lal Masjid issue by giving maximum time to the people inside the mosque to come out and surrender, therefore saving precious lives. The prime minister demanded the immediate release of women and children from Jamia Hafsa and said the detention of innocent people had restrained the government from taking stringent action against the madrassa. Shaukat Aziz said several people whose children and relatives are inside the Lal Masjid are worried. He said, “We want to protect the lives of women and children who have been made hostage by the extremists in Jamia Hafsa and are very concerned about their plight and the condition of their parents, who have come to Islamabad from different parts of the country to collect their children.” He urged the people inside the Lal Masjid to release all the hostages and surrender to the law enforcement agencies. He assured them that would be dealt with according to the law. He said all women who had come out of the Lal Masjid and were in the custody of the administration had been sent home with their parents or relatives. Replying to a question, the PM said the government wanted to resolve the Lal Masjid issue without any delay and there is no intention to prolong it. He said the reports that the government wanted to get political mileage out of the issue were baseless and ridiculous, adding that no government could afford the loss of innocent lives. The prime minister said the government would ensure the continuity of religious and formal education of the students who have been released from the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. Answering a question, the PM said there were probably trained militants inside the mosque, keeping in view the level of resistance being faced. He said once the militants had been arrested, it could be ascertained whether any country had arrest warrants for these militants or not. To another question on efforts of ulema to resolve the issue amicably, the PM said the government is serious and wants to resolve it through reconciliation, but there is no positive response from the Lal Masjid administration. He said the government wants to restore normalcy in the federal capital as soon as possible. Concerning the problems of the residents of the areas under curfew, the PM said there would be increased relaxation from Monday (today) and special passes would be issued to government employees and bank officials to open their offices in the area. He said Utility Stores have been directed to make special arrangements for the supply of essential food items to the residents of the area. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani, Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq, Minister for Political Affairs Amir Muqam and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Senator Tariq Azeem Khan accompanied the prime minister. The prime minister also met with the children and their parents and distributed a Holy Quran to each student, along with Rs 2,000 cash to each student and Rs 5,000 to each parent, so that they could reach home without any difficulty. In all 34 students were handed over to their parents while the administration would hand over 152 children from the centre after necessary arrangements. |
| Posted by:Fred |