Adil Najam
UPDATE: Reports in the Pakistan media suggest that the Lal Masjid leader has finally been arrested while trying to escape wearing a burqa. According to a BBC update:
The leader of a radical mosque besieged by Pakistani security forces in Islamabad has been caught trying to escape wearing a woman’s burqa. Security forces seized Abdul Aziz as he tried to leave the Red Mosque amid a crowd of women… He was wearing a burqa that also covered his eyes,” a security official told the AFP news agency about the cleric’s escape bid. “Our men spotted his unusual demeanour. The rest of the girls looked like girls, but he was taller and had a pot belly.“
ORIGINAL POST: Things are moving fast and the showdown at Lal Masjid, Islamabad that began this morning is now ready to turn into an even more real battle. The day took the lives of at least 10 people, possibly more. These included policemen, soldiers, by-standers, a journalist, and a number of Madrassah students. (For details see our earlier post and update comments on it, here).
The latest – and this keeps changing by the minute – is that in a mid-night press conference the government has given an ultimatum to the management of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) to surrender. There is no indication that they will. In the past things have always ended with ‘negotiated settlements.’ This time the likelihood of this happening is much less. A curfew has been imposed in the area. Tanks have been called in. So have special forces.
Metroblog Islamabad is doing a wonderful job of keeping abreast with breaking news. It reports, through Dawn TV, that 111 Brigade (Army) from Rawalpindi has already assembled around the mosque. Ambulances have been fully stocked. Hospitals are on alert. An ultimatum for time has been given (3.30 PST… NOW!). The entire area has been cordoned off.
Here is a news clip from ARYOne, broadcast earlier.
In an article written last week for The News, I had argued that inaction was not a solution and because of so many delays and policies of apeasement some confrontation was now becoming inevitable.
This episode [i.e., the Chinese massage parlor case] will further embolden the already violence-prone brigands at the two madressahs and we are likely to see an escalation in their demands as well as their tactics. Meanwhile, the government has once again demonstrated an inability and/or unwillingness to act decisively. The much-cherished ‘writ of the state’ continues to rot in tatters.
This, it seems, is what happened when earlier the Lal Masjid management incited this escalation in response to the government’s build-up of force around the mosque. In that article, I had gone on to argue that:
Just like standing still in the middle of the road at the sight of the blinding lights of a truck speeding towards it does not save the life of the stunned deer, doing nothing about this escalating crisis out of fear that doing anything will only make things worse is not going to help the government, or Pakistan. Something needs to be done, and done fast.
I had called in the article for the government to “act to judiciously dismantle militancy at Lal Masjid.” This situation has to be responded to. But the key word remains “act judiciously.” What is really important is how that action is taken. Further bloodshed should be avoided. At least minimized. One hopes that any action is intelligent action and all steps are taken to minimize loss of life. Not just because one does not wish to create needless ‘martyrs.’ Much more so because all life – and everyone’s life – is precious.
The technologies to undertake low casualty offensives are available. The will and sagacity to do so is needed. The test for the government – acting with force in the very center of the Federal Capital – is not only what it does, but how it does it.
Photo credit: Associated Press, B.K. Bangash.
Assalamau Laikum Marya,
You says, “he is a ridicule for islam, he is another fitna,who makes our religion a laughing stock can never be forgiven, na is jahan mein na aglay mein”.
Ameen to that…what is even worse for me is that this will give shariat a bad name..(they will associate it Lal masjid episode) and put shriat even further away from us…at a time when we could really use it to enhance our lives and reduce corruption.
Whatever happend, whatever was the reason behind this drama, whatever was the game, i just am hurt, like muslims all over, why did that rascal use Burqa as a shiled, why did he humiliate dat?
he was the religious scholar (so-called), why then , for heaven’s sake, why then he tried to escape leaving girls inside the madrasa, he is a ridicule for islam, he is another fitna,who makes our religion a laughing stock can never be forgiven, na is jahan mein na aglay mein
Assalamau Laikum all,
While it is amusing that we have had Auntie Aziz on the TV…Pak has become the laughing stock of the world.
We are supposed to be the pure…and there is no getting away from that…and that means sharia….how can we be pure without it. I think it is shameful that even after 60 years we are not shariat compliant.
Jinnah didn’t put in the frame and Zia-ul-Haq did a botch job too…”we must get closer to our religion” he said.
Through the ISI he asked for the formation of the Taliban …as long as they spread their “message” outside of Pak…like Afganistan or Azad Kashmir.
Maddrassas were build in the hundreds …and a more militant tone taken in there….what astounding shame we should feel for some to twist the peaceful message of our prophet PBUH into hate for our fellow man.
Ofcourse, it was always only going to be a matter of time before these peoples realised….”Hang on…we are becoming martyers fighting over here and the peoples of the pure are abusing the laws of Allah SWT”….so they have decided to do something about it for they “know better”.
Students of Lal Masjid cannot be held to account alone….previous government policy has led us to this shameful yet comical point….and still no sharia. We seriously need to address this point….we are allah’s SWT peoples …and must live by his laws of peace.
They have been showing parents of Jama-e-hafza students on TV. All seemingly uneducated and belonging to the under-privelleged segments of society. The crisis made them worried and they came looking for their children; otherwise, while lal masjid and jama-e-hafza were openly defying the state, most of the parents probably didn’t think/know it would get so serious.
Hopefully, this will make other parents more careful while sending their kids to madrassas. But more importantly, the government needs to work on the reasons why parents send their kids to such places.
Other questions need to be asked about funding and weapons. Where does jama-e-hafza get so much money from and why that philanthropy can’t be channeled into proper schools? Are there possible consequences for people who donate to such madrassas?
Also, we haven’t heard anything on jama-e-faridia (the other madrassa affiliated with lal masjid). Is it also going to be dismantled?
MQ,
Sorry for the direct statements, but pal you are the one fixated on the mullas and the violence. You are the one lending the fanatics credibility by calling them representatives of contemporary Islam.
When did anyone say there is anything to understand about violence? It should be denounced unequivoclly and Muslims should distance themselves from such fanatics.
In the case of the lal masjid, the fanatic mullas should be hanged for:
1) inciting violence
2) murder of atleast 21 people
Fanatic mullas and the fanatic liberals are two sides of the same coin. Muslims get crushed by both sides. Both try to subvert and sabotage the religion, they also feed each other with fodder.
Instead of following the fanatic liberals or the rabid mullahs we need to reclaim our faith and it’s values of peace, equality, tolerance, compassion, and justice. We need to build a civil society in Pakistan where the rule of law is supreme, where every man has izzat-e nafs.
This was the purpose behind the creation of Pakistan.
Peace.