July 19, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 03, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 18: The government has decided to give the Lal Masjid a new look to wash the memory of the bloody battle fought there this month. A high-level meeting presided over by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday approved a Rs13 million plan to renovate and remodel the mosque which was badly damaged in the eight-day battle which claimed 102 lives and bruised sentiments all around.

When the refurbished mosque is opened for prayers in the first week of August, the worshippers will find it bathed in apple green colour and its boundary wall lowered, an official who attended the meeting told Dawn.

“We are changing the red colour of the mosque to dilute its bloody memory,” he said requesting anonymity.

The meeting did not discuss the fate of the two madressahs attached to the Lal Masjid. Both the madressahs, Jamia Hafsa for girls and Jamia Fareedia for boys, are now under the control of the government.

Over 200 masons, carpenters and labourers have been employed to finish the renovation of the mosque in time.

Seven feet from the mosque’s 10-foot high boundary wall will be knocked down and a three-and-a-half-foot high iron grill will be put on the remaining three-foot high boundary wall instead.

Other changes to be made include expanding the ablution area of the mosque and adding more bathrooms.

Doors, concrete grills and the bullet-riddled iron sheet- cover over the mosque’s courtyard are also to be replaced. The courtyard is to be given a concrete roof, according to the official.

A new sound system will have to be installed as the old one in the mosque was destroyed during the fierce fighting on July 10.

After its renovation, the mosque will be handed over to the Auqaf Department which will appoint a new Khateeb for it. There is also a proposal to change the name of Lal Masjid.