LAHORE, July 27: Democratic Women’s Association General Secretary Tahira Mazhar Ali on Friday expressed concern at fresh disturbance outside Lal Masjid and the bomb explosion in a market.

Recording her reaction to Friday’s events in Islamabad, she said Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq should also resign for his failure to assess people’s mood before opening the mosque for Friday prayers.

She said secret agencies were supposed to be aware of the situation on ground. But it appeared no-one knew what was going to happen in the Lal Masjid. It should have been kept closed for two years but they opened it just two weeks after the military operation, she said.

She also blamed certain electronic media and said they appeared to be siding with the offenders. “I don’t know what is happening and who is going to deal with whom,” she said.

She said the people released by the courts might be behind the Lal Masjid disturbances. They must have been properly interrogated before their release, she suggested.

She said President Musharraf was right in saying that no liberal would utter a single word against these fundamentalists. “He is meeting Ms Benazir Bhutto but will they be able to manage the country’s affairs after the next elections?” she wondered.

She criticised Ejazul Haq and said the religious affairs ministry had been given to a person whose father had played havoc with the country.