Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil, who is convener of the City Council, presided over the stormy session that eventually saw the adoption of the treasury resolution defending the military action against the clerics and radical students of Lal Masjid and associated seminaries.
The house put the item No. 22 on the agenda on the back burner though it was to be taken up first on July 4 and then on July 11 but had to be put off to the next session both times. The issue pertained to the increase in plot ratio reclassification and land utilization in Scheme No 5, Clifton.
Instead, the treasury benches tabled another resolution to condemn the NWFP Assembly’s resolution calling for a ban on the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
The Haq Parast Group’s resolution was declared ‘passed’ while the opposition staged a walkout.
When the council started its proceedings on Thursday afternoon, Ms Jalil announced that she had received a resolution each from the treasury side and the opposition side on the Lal Masjid issue.
The house offered fateha for those who died in the operation. The chair then invited members to speak on the resolutions.
Initiating the debate, Haq Parast Group leader Asif Siddiqui described the incident as ‘a great tragedy’ but held religious elements responsible for it. He paid tribute to the valour of the security forces personnel who died during the operation, saying that they had laid down their lives to protect the lives of many innocent people.
The treasury’s resolution also appreciated the role of the religious leaders and government functionaries who did their utmost to securing the release of over 1,300 people during the stand-off. It urged the government to check or monitor the activities of religious schools involved in promoting extremism.
Mr Siddiqui said that the government had pursued a policy of restraint in dealing with the situation though the extremists had challenged its writ by establishing a state within a state. Defending the army action, he argued that no government could allow such a stand-off to continue for ever.
He accused a religio-political party of taking undue advantage of the situation. Had this party’s leadership been sincere to that religious group, it would not have left for London to attend a multi-party conference, he said.
He also dispelled the impression that the government had adopted an intransigent attitude. On the contrary, he said, it appeared lenient and ensured minimum possible casualties.
The opposition member, Rafiq Ahmed of the Al-Khidmat Group, vehemently condemned the army action, and maintained that the tragedy would not have come to pass had the government adopted a sensible strategy. He attributed the heavy casualties to the government’s ill-advised policy, saying that it resulted in the death of many innocent people, including women and children, besides injuries to scores of others.
He deplored that a place of worship had been invaded and damaged in a Muslim country by its own army, and accused the rulers of being ready to go to any extent in their bid to appease the US and the West.
Mr Ahmed regretted that the Mujahideen, who had fought a holy war against the Soviet occupation forces in Afghanistan with the full support of the US and Pakistan army, were now being branded as terrorists and extremists.
He said that the United States, after achieving its objectives, first invaded Afghanistan and then attacked the tribal areas of Pakistan to eliminate the Mujahideen.
Rejecting the government’s claim that it was fighting a war against terrorism, he wondered why it was not taking action against the terrorists who killed over 40 people on the streets of Karachi on May 12.
Leader of the Opposition Saeed Ghani of the Awam Dost Group said that the issue of Lal Masjid was not as simple as it was being portrayed. He said the nation would come to know the facts sooner or later.
He claimed that the number of casualties in the military action were much higher than the officially announced death toll. He said the government’s orchestrated strategy of keeping casualties at the minimum level simply did not work.
Mr Ghani wondered how the arms and ammunition in such a big quantity had been stockpiled in the religious seminary without the knowledge or consent of the government and its secret agencies despite the fact that it was located in the heart of the high-security zone in Islamabad and very close to the headquarters of a well-known intelligence agency.
He said there were many missing links in the episode.
Mr Masood Mehmud of the Haq Parast Group said that religious parties were promoting extremism in the country and condemned the opposition’s multi-party conference in London for targeting the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.
The council will now meet on July 14.