ISLAMABAD, June 1: Lal Masjid’s moral brigade descended on the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Friday on hearing of alleged desecration of Quranic verses in its nursing hostel but left mysteriously without taking any action.
Its arrival alarmed the Pims management which had been investigating the controversy among the hospital’s nursing students over the desecration of verses written at a drinking point, allegedly by their Christian colleagues.
While some 20 Jamia Hafsa girls entered the nursing hostel their male colleagues arriving later took positions outside.
But the whole squad soon left to the surprise and relief of everyone.
Pims’ rattled Executive Director Dr Fazle Hadi told Dawn that no negotiations were initiated with the vigilantes because he believed “they are not amenable to reason or negotiations”.
“It looks they got some message from their central command and decided to pack,” he said, thanking his stars.
The Pims management immediately closed the nursing school to defuse tensions and ordered detailed inquiry into the incident, which could have turned out to be a major embarrassment for it.
A source at the hospital said the Jamia Hafsa girls arrived while the Muslim students were protesting the alleged desecration at the nursing school, saying they had been invited.
It was the first sign of the brigade projecting its menacing force to institutions like hospitals since the Lal Masjid clerics started sending their “moral police” out on missions of suppressing vices and promoting virtue.
It was rumoured that the Lal Masjid force was invited by some among the Pims nursing students who had been accusing their Christian colleagues of playing mischief. The management had even suspended some of the Christian staff and nurses on the basis of suspicion and the matter was being investigated.
Moreover, the hospital management registered a complaint with the police against unknown offenders. But none of these measures could pacify the agitating students.
A Christian group called National Commission for Justice and Peace in a statement termed the suspension of the Christian staff and students as prejudiced and short sighted. “Taking action against anyone merely on the basis of suspicion and without inquiry is unjustified,” it said.
Jamia Hafsa girls have been making waves since January when they forcibly occupied a public library next to their seminary to protest the demolition of some mosques built on usurped land. The government’s reluctance to use force against them encouraged them to pursue Lal Masjid’s agenda of enforcing its moral code on the citizens of Islamabad more vigorously.