04 July 2004	Sunday	15 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, July 3: A serious law and order situation can emerge in Islamabad after President General Pervez Musharraf directed action against those Muftis who had recently issued a decree against army and Wana operation , it is feared by the interior ministry.

A source in the ministry said the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration had been directed to take action in this regard.

In reply to a notice served by the ICT administration on 11 Muftis, they refused to withdraw the decree and close 'Darul Fatawa' - the place from where the Muftis issue decrees.

In charge of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz told the ICT administration that Darul Fatawa was established in Lal Masjid on the demand of the people who came to the mosque frequently to seek guidance in the light of Holy Quran and the Sunnah.

Maulana Ghazi Abdul Rashid, brother of Maulana Abdul Aziz, told Dawn that some seven Muftis remained present in Darul Fatawa to facilitate the people. He said the mosque management did not need approval from any authority for establishment of Darul Fatawa.

Maulana Abdul Aziz, in his reply to the ICT administration, said he held army and the troops in high esteem and he always called them 'Mujahideen' and 'guardians of Islam and the country's borders'.

Responding to a warning given by the ICT administration regarding his removal from Lal Masjid by the Auqaf Department, Maulana Abdul Aziz said most of the mosques managements wanted to get rid of the Auqaf Department to run the affairs of mosques in a better way.

The in charge of the Lal Masjid said a serious law and order situation could emerge in the capital if he and other Muftis were removed by the Auqaf Department.

President General Pervez Musharraf had recently taken a serious notice of a decree issued against the army and the Wana operation.

Inspector General (IGP) Police, Islamabad, Fayyaz Ahmed Turo, has also been directed to monitor the activities of the mosque management. The source said an action was expected against Maulana Abdul Aziz.

Maulana Abdul Aziz and 10 other Ulema of Fiqah-i-Hanfia (Deoband) had recently issued a decree on army operation in Wana declaring that the army officials killed in Wana operation were not martyrs.