KARACHI: MQM backs govt, others urge truce: Lal Masjid standoff
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, July 8: Supporting the government’s stance on the Lal Masjid issue, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has urged ulema to use their influence to secure the release of women and children trapped inside the Islamabad mosque.
The MMA, on the other hand, has voiced its opposition to the government’s operation against the Lal Masjid militants, while the Wafaqul Madaris has urged the authorities to announce a ceasefire.
The MQM appealed to the administrations of all madressahs, religious scholars and others to increase pressure on Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi in order to secure the safe release of all women and children who are currently being held hostage inside the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa.
The appeal was made by MQM leader and MNA Haider Abbas Rizvi while speaking at a press conference held here at the party’s headquarters on Sunday.
He observed that the Lal Masjid stand-off had become a serious matter for the solidarity and integrity of Pakistan.
He said the tribal areas as well as other parts of the NWFP and Balochistan were in the grip of religious extremism and a similar situation might erupt in Karachi.
“The MQM is very concerned and it wants a permanent solution to this problem,” he added.
Opposition criticised
Mr Rizvi strongly criticised the opposition religious and political parties for issuing statements in favour of the Lal Masjid administration and asked what kind of relations they had with the extremists and why they were supporting those involved in illegal activities, which also violated the Shariah.
He said that due to the Lal Masjid issue, questions were being raised about those madressahs, which were only imparting religious education and were not involved in fanning hatred or training suicide bombers.
He maintained that the government was demonstrating exemplary patience and restraint on the issue.
“The MQM does not want bloodshed and supports the government’s stance with regard to the Lal Masjid issue,” he said.
Madressah survey
To a question, the MQM legislator said that the party would support a survey to ascertain the credentials of all madressahs to confirm whether they were involved in extremist activities.
Other MQM parliamentarians, including federal minister Shamim Siddiqui, MNAs Abdul Waseem, Kanwar Khalid Younus and Akhlaq Hussain Abidi, were also present.
The government should immediately stop its ongoing army operation against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa and allow the ulema and media-men to visit the troubled mosque.
This demand was made by Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MNAs Mohammad Hussain Mehanti and Laeeq Khan.
They called upon the government to not to make it an ego issue as the entire nation was disturbed over the situation. They pointed out that even during wars the opportunity for a ceasefire was provided, but in the case of the Lal Masjid, it appeared the government was not prepared to respect the life of human beings and was determined to eliminate all ulema and students, including girls, in the mosque.
Appeasment of US
The MMA leaders termed the policy of President Musharraf as an attempt to appease America and get an extension for his unconstitutional and illegal government from the US and Europe. They said such actions of the government were resulting in bringing a bad name to Islam throughout the world.
They said if the Lal Masjid was destroyed it could add fuel to the fire of extremism in the country and the situation would hurtle beyond the control of not only the government but the ulema as well.
The MNAs appealed to human rights organisations to raise their voice against the ongoing oppression and stop the government from killing its own citizens.
Wafaq wants ‘ceasefire’
A top official of the Wafaqul Madaris, one of the five religious education boards which solely controls around 10,000 out of the 15,000 seminaries across the country, asked the government to announce a ceasefire at the Lal Masjid to avoid any further loss of innocent lives.
“We have contacted the government and asked them to opt for the ceasefire and end the ongoing military operation against the Lal Masjid because it would worsen the disaster and bring a huge loss of precious lives if the offensive is allowed to continue further,” Hanif Jalandhari, Secretary-General of the Wafaqul Madaris, which controls the Deobandi seminaries across Pakistan, told Dawn on the telephone.
He said despite the fact that many people, including a senior army official, had lost their lives in the stand-off, there were still chances to cool down the matter and save hundreds of people being held hostage inside the mosque.
“The government’s strategy, initially based on wait and see, was wise, which provided an opportunity to hundreds of stranded people to come outside safely. But the ongoing offensive would only result in the loss of innocent lives and further tarnish our image abroad,” said Mr Jalandhari.
“If asked, we are ready to play any role to defuse the present situation,” he added.
‘Massacre of humanity’
The government is involved in a ‘massacre of humanity’ by using indiscriminate firepower against the Lal Masjid forces, and the present rulers have broken all records in violating human rights, Administrator of the Binnoria University, Mufti Mohammad Naeem, and JUI Central Joint Secretary-General Qari Sher Afzal said in a joint statement issued here on Sunday.
They said that attacking a mosque with mortar shells and indiscriminate killings of human beings were in blatant violation of human rights. They regretted the loss of life on both sides.
The statement expressed grief over the death of Lt-Col Haroon Islam and demanded that respectable national institutions should not be used against their own people.
They demanded that the operation against the Lal Masjid be stopped to prevent further bloodshed.
Artistes hope sanity prevails
Some leading artistes have termed the Lal Masjid stand-off unfortunate and urged the mosque administration and the government to resolve the issue peacefully so that no further blood is shed.
“It is a really unfortunate incident in our history, which is tarnishing the image of Pakistan and Islam abroad,” famous silver screen star Ghulam Mohiyuddin told Dawn.
He appreciated the government’s flexibility over the matter and appealed to Mr Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy in-charge of the mosque, to respond ‘positively’ to the government’s overtures.
“The government has shown maximum flexibility and now it is Mr Ghazi’s turn to come forward and play his role in saving precious lives,” said the eminent actor.
‘Nothing to do with Islam’
Famed film actor Saud said the incident had brought infamy to Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim world.
“What is being done in the name of Islam is nothing to do with the religion and has no relation whatsoever with the teachings of our beloved Prophet (PBUH),” Saud said.
He said the so-called religious leaders believed in rigidity and coercion in the name of Islam, which had no link with the essence of the religion.
He said the people killed during the stand-off were innocent, hence those responsible for the deaths should not be allowed to go unpunished.
“Jihad is a great tenet of Islam, which these so-called pious men have brought into disrepute for their own interests. We should explore the true essence of Jihad, which is not merely brandishing guns and using coercive tactics,” he said.
‘Sense should prevail’
Pop singer Faakhir said sense should prevail to get this matter settled and to avert such incidents in the future.
“We all dream to live in a Pakistan which has no bloodshed, no killings, no bombs, no bullets and no suicide bombers,” he said.
Faakhir said that unfortunately the situation was not so, terming the lack of proper education and the population explosion as the root causes of such problems. The singer said not only Pakistan but the whole of South Asia, the Middle East and Africa were facing similar problems.
“The socio-economic conditions and law and order problems are worsening with every passing day. We have to turn around the situation with more education and a control on the population explosion,” he said.
Faakhir observed the present stand-off could be resolved through wisdom.
Media coverage criticised
The Sindh Bar Council Human Rights Committee on Saturday held the government responsible for the Lal Masjid issue and demanded an end to the episode, adds a reporter.
According to a statement, a meeting of the committee was held with Aaqil Lodhi in the chair, which criticised the government’s media policy, demanding that the extensive live coverage of the Lal Masjid issue be stopped. “The people are not interested in the long play,” it stated.
The meeting was attended by lawyers from different parts of the province.
The participants expressed their annoyance over the restrictions over the live coverage of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s processions, saying that the latest Pemra Ordinance was promulgated only to place curbs upon the lawyers’ movement.
