March 04, 2007	Sunday	Safar 14, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, March 3: The stand-off between the Ulema and the government over the demolition of mosques in the city flared up again on Saturday after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) refused to accept that it had razed any.

Dawn has learnt that this stand taken by the CDA in a meeting of the Ulema-Government committee formed to resolve the issue greatly offended the Ulema.

A participant of the meeting said the Ulema, representing the Lal Masjid hardliners, were extremely displeased over what they took to be a somersault on the part of the government.

It was the second meeting of the committee formed recently to implement the formula agreed last month for ending the confrontation between the two sides and the occupation of the Children’s Library by the girl students of Madressah Hafsa attached to Lal Masjid.

The Ulema expressed displeasure over the remarks of some CDA officials that “they did not know where the demolished mosques were located.”

The meeting presided over by Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Chaudhry Mohammad Ali also decided to raze two other mosques located on Park Road — Aman Masjid and Darulaman Ashrafia. The CDA assured the meeting that alternative land would be provided for the two mosques.

However, a source close to the hardline Ulema said in the light of the meeting they had decided to continue their occupation on the Children’s Library.

They were of the view that the government had backed out of its promise to reconstruct the demolished mosques by the CDA, as now no one was taking responsibility for the razing of the mosques.

They also provided a list of seven mosques demolished in the recent past, which were: Masjid Amir Hamza located on Murree Road, Masjid Syedna Ibn-i-Abbas, Orchard Road; another Masjid Amir Hamza, F-10/3; Masjid Syedna Ali, G-10; Masjid Umar bin Abdul Aziz, PM Staff Colony; Masjid Safha, I-8, and Masjid Umar at G-8 Markaz.

It is feared that the prevailing confrontation between the government and the Ulema will aggravate in the coming days when more mosques will be demolished as announced by the local administration.

In the first meeting, the committee had directed the CDA to prepare a comprehensive report on unauthorised mosques so that their actual status could be ascertained.

The committee was assigned the task to prepare a strategy to resolve the issue pertaining to about 84 mosques that have been declared ‘unauthorised’ by the CDA.

The government is stated to be compelled to seriously tackle the issue after a strong protest was witnessed in Islamabad from the Ulema and girl students of Madressah Hafsa against demolition of the ‘unauthorised’ mosques.