July 10, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 9: Speakers at a seminar here on Monday called for bringing religious seminaries in the mainstream and revising their curriculum to ensure that they do not produce frustrated youth.

The seminar “Lal mosque episode: lessons and repercussions” was organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute. The speakers said the Lal Masjid episode would have far-reaching consequences even if the two sides succeeded in resolving the conflict.

They accused the government of deliberately prolonging the standoff with a view to divert public attention from important political and social issues and to achieve some domestic and international political advantages.

Former senator and PPP leader Farhatullah Babar said the issue was staged and re-engineered by the military-led government to overshadow other important political, social and economic issues and to regain the fading international support.

“At domestic front, it is a skillful effort to divert public attention from the multi-parties conference, recent landmark ruling of the Supreme Court, the government’s failure in handling the flood devastation in Balochistan and Sindh and the upcoming re-election of the president. And at the international front, the government wants to soften the American pressure ‘to do more’ in the war on terror,” he added.

He said it was strange that the regime had turned a blind eye to the issues of illegal occupation of a public library, kidnapping of women and infants, policemen, vandalisation of private property by the Ghazi brothers as well as coming of heavy weapons into the mosque and threats of suicide bombings by the mosque clerics.

“Indeed the Lal Masjid issue was allowed to simmer because it helped the Musharraf regime,” he added.

He said of all the lessons of the Lal Masjid the most critical was to invest heavily in education, so that the poor and destitute did not have to look for free education in the madressahs some of which also preached intolerance, extremism and violence. “In the short term, we must build momentum to rid all madressahs of weapons besides registering them and having a close look at their curricula,” he stressed.

Ashfaq Saleem Mirza of the South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) said the government was solely responsible for the crisis, adding military as well as civilian governments in the country always succumbed to the demands of fundamentalists.

He said Ghazi brothers were arrested with weapons and explosives in 2004 but were exonerated by the efforts of religious affairs minister, Ijazul Haq, after a written agreement.

He asked how a CDA law allowed construction of residential accommodation adjacent to every mosque for the clergy.

Mirza said widespread poverty in the country was the primary reason for the trends unfolding by Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa which had become a nursery for recruiting militants.

Meanwhile, Insani Haqooq Ittehad, an alliance of civil society organisations, on Monday expressed concern over the standoff at Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid.

It, however, endorsed the strategy of the government not to resort to an all-out commando action which may lead to more loss of life. The alliance was of the view that there was a need to continue restraint and patience in resolving the issue.

“We believe this continuous siege will ultimately frustrate the militants and lead them to surrender,” the members of the alliance said at a meeting.

The members included ActionAid, Bedari, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Pattan, Potohar Development Association, Strengthening Participatory Organisation and women’s and human rights activists.