Adil Najam
Once again (here, here and here) the situation is tense around the Lal Masjid in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. More tense than it has been before. So tense, in fact, that it seems like a real battle this time. Fire has been exchanged, one soldier of the Pakistan Rangers has been killed and a number of madrassah students wounded.
According to The News:
A Rangers man was killed and two wounded in shootout between Lal Masjid students and Rangers. The incident caused tension in the locality in Islamabad resulting in closure of shopping centres and shops. The incident also caused traffic jam in the area. Federal Minister of Interior Aftab Sherpao has demanded the mosque administration to hand over persons involved in the firing over the law enforcement agencies to authorities. A girl and several security men have been wounded in the firing incident, which were transferred to hospital. Emergency has been declared and alert announced at all hospitals in the federal capital. An official of Rangers talking to the media has said that the students of Lal Masjid started the firing. Talking to Geo News Federal Minister of Interior Aftab Sherpao has said the government doesn’t want bloodshed but it would not tolerate such incidents of lawlessness. He demanded hand over of the people involved in the incident to the authorities.
Dawn’s breaking news adds:
A soldier was killed and at least a dozen people were injured in clashes between security forces and students from Islamabad’s Laal Masjid Tuesday, officials said. “One Ranger is dead,� Colonel Mashallah from the paramilitary Rangers force told AFP outside the Laal Masjid in Islamabad. Two policemen were also wounded. An AFP correspondent saw eight injured girls at a local hospital who were brought in from the seminary attached to the mosque, four of whom were unconscious. Officials said more were coming in.
An AP story published in USA Today adds more:
Shooting broke out at a radical mosque in Pakistan’s capital Tuesday after militant students clashed with security forces deployed to contain their activities. One paramilitary soldier shot in the clash died later in hospital, doctors said. Reporters also saw several female students being taken to a hospital, apparently suffering from the effects of tear gas fired by police. The battle broke out after male and female students from the mosque, some of them armed with guns or wooden poles, rushed toward a police checkpoint near the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad. Police fired tear gas to hold them back and, as the students retreated, an Associated Press photographer saw at least four male students, some of them masked, fire shots toward the checkpoint some 200 yards away. Gunfire was also heard from the police position.
A man used the mosque’s loudspeakers to order suicide bombers to get into position. “They have attacked our mosque, the time for sacrifice has come,” the man said. An hour later, dozens of students were patrolling the area around the mosque, and sporadic shots were still heard. There was no sign of police moving in on the mosque… Hundreds of police and paramilitary rangers have taken up position near the mosque in recent days. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said last week that he was ready to raid the mosque, but warned that suicide bombers from a militant group linked to al-Qaeda had slipped into the building.
By way of context, note this from today’s Dawn (written before this current incident):
In a bid to tighten noose around the Lal Masjid administration, the government on Monday reinforced the Rangers force deployed near the mosque with another two wings, each with 500 personnel and lodged them in apartments recently vacated by the Punjab Constabulary near Aabpara. A senior security official, however, told Dawn that the government had no intention of conducting any raid on the mosque and its seminaries. “But the forces deployed near the mosque will take stern action against Lal Masjid students if they take law in their own hands or attack any massage centre or CDs shop,� he added. The official said the number of Rangers deployed near the mosque had now gone up to 1,500 and they were being supported by 500 police commandos.
…Sources said that Lal Masjid also had reinforced its brigade by calling more activists from other areas and seminaries. The sources said they had reports that the Lal Masjid brigade had advanced weapons, wireless systems and special masks to be used in the event of a gas attack… Meanwhile, the local administration has directed government offices and other people to vacate all buildings close to Lal Masjid and the building of the environment ministry has already been vacated for the safety of its employees. Both the security forces and the Lal Masjid brigade have taken positions and made bunkers. The mosque’s students have also blocked a road with electricity poles.
All of this protends that the ‘battle for Lal Masjid’ may already have begun. The folks in the mosque seem more eager to fight than the government. The government also has much more to loose, especially with its domestic and international popularity being as shaky as it is today. The folks at Lal Masjid and its two affiliate madrassahs - Hafsa and Faridia - will declare victory no matter what happens.
One hopes that whatever happens will happen with no more bloodshed than has already happened. One hopes, of course. But oneis not really hopeful. Khuda khair karey!
Photo Credit: AP Photo by B.K. Bangash.
This has been depressing day but I am glad to read the comments here and see that most people actually are thoughtful and disapprove of the violent message of the Lal Masjid people. Gives me hope and proof that we are a moderate and good people and that extremists like teh ones in Lal Masjid are a minority who do not represent all the rest of us.
Things seem to be quiet right now but I am not sure they will remain so long. The govt will lose all credibility and this will clearly be topi drama if after all this and all deaths they just retreat.
We badly need an update at this point. Najam Sethi’s editorial in DT today mentions a casualty count of 20 at last reports.
Does it seem like there will be a surrender? Can someone back home post something?
10% of hardcore islamists is causing disgrace to the rest 90% and muslims are being looked by other relegions as a relegion of intolerance, unable to accept other relegions and so on which is not true.
Itz high time for the majority of the muslims who are against these hardcore elements to raise their voice and come forward to prevent such people to even talk about Islam because they are against humanity.
Relegion and rituals are made to make humans a better human and not to seperate human from other human.
if indiscriminate violence was the answer, indians would have succeeded in indian occupied kashmir and americans in iraq. solution to the problems of religious militancy is long term. violence in the short term will cause more alienation and distrust of government and can create serious blowback. if the situation can be contained, then the government will be in a better position to deal with the brothers in an environment where innocent people cant be used as hostage. in the end however i hope the leaders of lal masjid meet the fate they truly deserve.
Kruman… someone wrote recently that in the Na Pak Fauj, the people who should be generals retire as Brigadiers, and those who should retire as Brigadiers end up being Generals… I don’t know about the credentials of the average retired Brigadier, but if the Kashmir/Kargil/Lal Masjid fiascos are anything to go by, there’s probably some truth in this…
Rehan…
Your post comes across as a tad amusing… not many here are so blinded by their hatred for Musharraf to be oposing the operation! Most people are asking for it! Now if only the geniuses in boots would do something, so we can “close ranks and support them” as you want us to do!
I agree with SJH. State within state is not allowed. This people must not be allowed to spread anarchy. But there are so many related questions. I wonder whether the poor guys were used ? The students definitely were used. They were brainwashed to face death. But this had to happen.
While we must all pray that the loss of life is minimized, this situation should be absoutely unacceptable to anyone in Pakistan. Questioning the legitimacy of the present government does not lead to small, well-organized and well-funded groups playing the religion card to literally get away with murder. Whether we like it or not, certain powers are only vested in the state - vigilanteeism is not the answer. Nations cannot afford to play amateur psychologists with such people.