MURREE, July 6: Five Christian missionary schools were closed amid fears of reprisal from religious extremists in the wake of the prevailing Lal Masjid crisis. Simon Javed Malik, member town committee Murree, said a sense of insecurity was prevailing among the Christian community in the wake of the ongoing government action against Lal Masjid brigade and sought security for the schools, churches and residences of Christians.

It is to be mentioned here that a couple of years ago a Christian school was attacked by terrorists.

Mr Javed said commercial cabins in the compound of the main Church located on the Mall were a security risk. He demanded that the Kenaan Park and the compound of the church should be handed over to the church administration.

Cases against opponents: A student leader has accused the local administration of implicating opposition activists in various cases for damaging private buildings during a demonstration on Wednesday.

“Most of the people who had damaged private buildings during protest held against the Lal Masjid operation were from Langar Kassi seminary and were supporters of Town Nazim Sardar Saleem Khan but cases were registered against workers of opposition parties,” stated Nazim Islami Jamiat-i-Tulaba of Murree tehsil Shakir Hussain during a press conference here on Friday.

Mr Hussain alleged Rawat Union Council Nazim Majeed Abbasi and Dewal Union Council Nazim Ishtiaq Abbasi had blocked the road for several hours to protest government’s action against Lal Masjid clerics, but no case was registered against them as they were supporters of the town nazim.

The town nazim was not present during the protest demonstration, but had pointed out his opponents, and even those people were nominated in cases who were not present on the occasion.

Most cases were registered against workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, despite the fact that workers of all political parties had taken part in the demonstration, Shakir Hussain claimed.

On the other hand, troops continued to march on the Mall and armymen remained deployed at various places including hotels.

Hotel Owners Association President Haji Shifaul Haq said a sense of fear prevailed in the area as troops marched on the Mall, affecting business activities in the hill station. He said the protesters had damaged private buildings, including hotels, and threw stones at 12 Div Headquarters. They then turned towards a bakery run by the army, but no one was there to stop them. He said the presence of armymen was of no use now.

He said the hotel industry was already facing a lot of problems, including severe water shortage. He said not a single member of the Peace Committee formed by the town nazim was from Murree city, he added.