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SARGODHA, July 8: The district administration, with police assistance, bulldozed the structure of a mosque and boundary wall built on a plot adjacent to telephone exchange in New Satellite Town early on Monday morning.
It is learnt that police did not allow anybody to reach the venue and sealed all the routes leading to the site.
About 2,500 activists of a religious group, the Dawat-i-Islami, headed by Punjab amir Malik Khalid Awan, raised a mosque overnight and constructed a boundary wall on a 14-kanal plot. The district administration and police avoided to take action against the Dawat-i-Islami activists as they showed them a stay order issued by a civil judge besides permission granted by district Naib Nazim Mian Mazhar Qureshi.
Meanwhile, the Punjab governor directed the district Nazim and district police chief to get the plot vacated at all costs as the plot was of commercial nature.
After getting the governor’s order, the administration and police entered the premises after Isha prayers and baton charged the people present there. It took them whole night to pull down the entire structure.
Police registered cases against 200 activists and arrested 108 of them.
It may be noted tehsil Nazim Tasnim Qureshi played an active role in the mosque demolition. He directed police to register case and bulldoze the mosque constructed on the vacant plot earmarked for a mosque.
The Dawat activists and people gathered there raised slogans against the tehsil and district administration and claimed that they had constructed the mosque with the permission of district Nazim.
ARRESTS: Meanwhile, Dawat leaders claimed that police not only baton charged the people offering prayers but also arrested more than 200 people who sustained injuries as a result of police’s barbaric act.
They said if the district and tehsil Nazimeen were not suspended, they would launch a country-wide protest drive. They also demanded registration of case against the Nazimeen for desecration of Holy Quran.
Earlier, nominated accused Waqar Haider, Haji Muhammad Amin, Muhammad Ali Shad, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Bakhsh Qamar, Abu Bakar Husain Shad, Muhammad Javed Qadri, Allah Bakhsh, Mehboob Elahi, Haji Abdul Hameed, Muhammad Shafi, Muhammad Shahbaz, Muhammad Arif, Muhammad Saeed, Shahbaz Ahmad and Shakil Ahmad moved their bail application.
PRESS NOTE: The district government issued the following press note on the demolition of mosque:
“On 7th instant in the area of new Satellite Town, a religious group has started construction of a mosque over 14 kanals of land worth thirty million rupees with mud and bricks. After getting information the other group and citizens planned to interfere which created disturbance and created situation of law and order. Local administration and police reached the spot and controlled the situation. The district and tehsil Nazim reached the spot and after negotiation convinced the parties to remain peaceful.
“Land has been got evacuated and legal action has been initiated against Qabza group and at present entire situation is under control, and 118 persons who took the law into their hands have been sent to jail on judicial remand.”
