News Update Place

Abdul Rashid Ghazi laid to rest at Madrassah Abdullah

ROJHAN MAZARI: Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi Thursday laid to rest at Madrassah Abdullah in his native village Basti Abdullah near Rojhan Mazari.

The remains of Rashid Ghazi late night brought to Basti Abdullah from Islamabad.

Maulana Abdul Aziz led the funeral prayers of his brother Abdul Rashid Ghazi under stringent security arrangements. Abdul Aziz was released on parole to attend the funeral.

Immediately after the funeral prayers Maulana Abdul Aziz was sent back to Islamabad under strict security.

The female members of the family were also brought to Basti Abdullah. The remains of Maulana Ghazi were kept at the house of his maternal uncle. Maulana Abdul Aziz, family women and other members paid last respects to the deceased at the house.

The burial of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, which took place after much delay, was attended by MMA parliamentarian Shah Abdul Aziz and large number of relatives and people of the area.

People paid tributes to Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi and demanded inquiry of the Lal Masjid incident by the Supreme Court.

No mass graves found in Lal Masjid: Tariq Azim

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Information Tariq Azim has denied presence of any mass grave in the Lal Masjid complex.

Tariq Azim visited the mosque complex Thursday along with other top officials.

He told a European news agency that no mass grave has been found in the compound.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the mosque deputy cleric killed in the operation, had claimed that hundreds of persons including women were killed and buried in the mosque premises.

The minister denying the claim termed it baseless.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s funeral prayers offered

ROJHAN MAZARI: The funeral prayers of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi Thursday offered at Madrassah Abdullah in his native village Basti Abdullah near Rojhan Mazari.

Ghazi was killed in security forces operation against militants at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid.

His elder brother Maulana Abdul Aziz led the funeral prayers under stringent security measures.

Earlier, the remains of Rashid Ghazi late night brought to Basti Abdullah from Islamabad.

Maulana Abdul Aziz led the funeral prayers of his brother Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Abdul Aziz was released on parole to attend the funeral.

The female members of the family were also brought to Basti Abdullah. The remains of Maulana Ghazi were kept at the house of his maternal uncle. Maulana Abdul Aziz, family women and other members paid last respects to the deceased at the house.

People from Basti Abdullah and adjoining areas attended funeral prayers in large number.

People paid tributes to Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi and demanded inquiry of the Lal Masjid incident by the Supreme Court.

Immediately after the funeral prayers Maulana Abdul Aziz was drove back in a Rangers vehicle under strict security.

Ghazi’s remains reach native village Basti Abdullah

ROJHAN MAZARI: The remains of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi Thursday morning brought to his native village Basti Abdullah near Rojhan Mazari.

Maulana Abdul Aziz will lead the funeral prayers of his brother Abdul Rashid Ghazi, sources said.

Preparations for funeral prayers have been completed and local people have reached to the place to attend the funeral in large number.

Tributes are being paid to late Abdul Rashid Ghazi on a loudspeaker in the area and people being advised to observe restraint.

Ghazi last sighted by family, relatives

ROJHAN: The family and relatives of Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi arrived here on Thursday morning.

His brother Maulana Abdul Aziz, brother’s wife Umm-e-Hassan, sisters Umm-e-Aisha and Umm-e-Furqan, nieces Tayyaba and Asma saw Abdur Rashid’s dead body for the last time.

Maulana Abdur Rashid’s dead body has been sent to his native Village Abdullah, 20 kilometers away from here. In Village Abdullah, his funeral prayers would be offered and he would be buried in local graveyard.

On this occasion, extraordinary security arrangements have been made in Village Abdullah.

Burial of deceased in Islamabad; Ghazi to be buried in Rojhan

ISLAMABAD: The burial process of the deceased who lost their lives in Lal Masjid Operation is in progress and Ghazi’s corpse will be buried in his native area Rojhan Mazari.

According to Interior Ministry, the post mortem of 73 dead bodies have been conducted and photographs have also been taken in addition to finger prints.

After the post mortem phase, the dead bodies were given the last wash with tanker water and the funeral prayer s for 30 dead bodies was offered at Sohalah Police College, which were brought to H-11 graveyard by three trucks. After which the burial process was started, which is still in progress till the writing of the news story.

Talking to Geo News, a worker said that they have been ordered by the officials to dig up hundred graves.

The list of names has been made available by the Interior Ministry after the identification with the help of finger prints.

According to reports, I-10 morgue is under stringent watch of commandos. According to the sources, it is decided that six foreigners killed in Lal Masjid Operation, would not be buried. One of them belonged to an African country.

Maulana Abdul Aziz confirmed the identity of his younger brother Abdur Rashid Ghazi and signed the documents. Maulana Abdul Aziz’s wife and daughter Tayyaba are being taken to Rojhan Mazari after being released on parole.

The sisters of Maulana Abdul Aziz have left for their native village to attend the last funeral rituals.

It has been said that the security forces found some significant documents from the basement of Jamia Hafsa.

Nilofer grieved at Lal Masjid incident

ISLAMABAD: Senator and former Federal Minister Nilofer Bakhtiar said that she is grieved at the tragedy of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa.

Talking to Geo News, she said if the Jamia Hafsa issue had been resolved earlier, the matter could not have gone to that extent.

Nilofer said that we should remain moderate, as the extremism is detrimental.

She vowed to build a Crisis Centre for the helpless women and children, who the operation has rendered without any help and support.

Zawahiri reacts against Lal Masjid operation

DUBAI: Concerning the events at the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Pakistan’s military response during the siege by militants in the complex, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two leader in al-Qaeda, presents a speech titled, “The Aggression Against Lal Masjid”, produced in a video by as-Sahab, the multimedia wing of al-Qaeda.

This speech, issued to jihadist forums today, Wednesday, July 11, 2007, is the tenth from Zawahiri this year and his third this month.

Two of the ten use footage of Zawahiri speaking, the other eight only contain his voice over a still image. English-subtitles and a transcript were provided by as-Sahab. Zawahiri uses this event to foment anger amongst Pakistani Muslims towards Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and incites this category of people to participate in jihad, not in Pakistan, but in Afghanistan.

This complements his words in the speech immediately prior, “Malicious Britain and its Indian Slaves”, where he makes the same recommendation that challenging Musharraf is fruitless, but empowering the Taliban may mete success. He states: “Your salvation is only through Jihad, so you must now back the Mujahideen in Afghanistan with your persons, wealth, opinion and expertise, because the Jihad in Afghanistan is the door to salvation for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the region.”

Additionally, Zawahiri claims Pakistani intelligence intentionally showed Abdul Aziz Ghazi, brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi - the imam of the mosque slain during the siege - on television fleeing and wearing a burqa, a Muslim woman’s clothing, and argues that this incident in confluence with the military aggression is a message of “blinding clarity” to Pakistanis and scholars. Such a crime, Zawahiri states, may only be “washed away by repentance or blood”.

‘Safe passage option was unacceptable for govt’: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said the Government had credible information about presence of people other than students and weapons at Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa Complex.

He was giving the Government’s perspective of what happened at a briefing session with foreign media here Wednesday. The Prime Minister said the crisis was triggered when people from the complex started interfering with the normal life of the citizens and challenged writ of the Government.

He said every effort was made to impress upon the Lal Masjid administration and Jamia Hafsa to confine themselves to religious education but they fell on deaf ears. He said many people from different walks of life also tried to diffuse the situation but people from Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid indulged in more provocative activities.

Mr. Shaukat Aziz said when their activities increased people started demanding action against them. It was then decided to put a siege around the place but even then the main objective of the Government was to resolve the problem through negotiations rather than any police or military action.

Every attempt was also made to get as many people out of the complex safely as possible. The Government induced inmates to come out through different tactics and its strategy was vindicated as about 1300 people left the premises. About talks of the negotiating team with the Lal Masjid administration, the Prime Minister said these broke down when Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi demanded safe passage for his foreign friends; it was an unacceptable for the government.

The Government made it clear that every one will have to go through the law and if identified as militants the law would take its course. He said the security forces were then instructed to carryout operation, which has now ended and the mopping up operation was in progress.

He said when the complex is cleared, media-persons would be taken there to see for themselves what was happening there. About future policy, he said the Government has nothing against Madressahs.

They are imparting religious education and the Government is encouraging them to introduce modern syllabus as well to enable their students to make good careers. He, however, made it clear that no one will be allowed to promote militancy. The Prime Minister said we have done away with an institution that was functioning prejudicial to the country’s security and harbourning militancy.

He said the institution was supposed to teach Islam which is religion of overwhelming majority of the population. Islam promotes peace and harmony.

To a question he said the Government has taken necessary measures to protect life and property of the citizens. He said every one is entitled to express his views freely including demonstrations but these should be within the bounds of the law.

FROM TODAY’S NEWSPAPER

Relatives in the dark as militants being buried

ISPR spokesman says first phase of Lal Masjid operation over

ISLAMABAD: Army troops cleared the last militants from the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa Complex here on Wednesday as confusion prevailed how the government would dispose of the bodies of the militants killed in the operation.

A private television channel reported that a mass grave was being dug in Sector H-11 Graveyard of Islamabad at midnight Wednesday. The bodies were reportedly kept at Sarhad-Balochistan Cold Storage in Sector I-10/3. A large contingent of police was deployed at the cold storage.

A senior police officer confirmed to The News that 30 to 40 graves were being dug where the bodies of those militants whose heirs could not be contacted would be buried as Amanat. On the other hand, parents and relatives of the Lal Masjid inmates ran from pillar to post throughout the day to find clues to the whereabouts of their near and dear ones.

A list of the dead and the injured was displayed at the PIMS Hospital. However, a lot of people could not find the names of their kin in the list. They were not allowed to visit the injured. A woman was wailing as she could not locate the whereabouts of her only son.

The relatives demanded that the bodies must be handed over to them. A wire agency quoted ISPR spokesman Major Gen Waheed Arshad as saying that 73 militants had been killed in the two-day fighting at complex.

Addressing a press conference here, the general said at 10:30 am on Wednesday morning, some terrorists had opened fire on the security forces from inside Jamia Hafsa, injuring one of the officers. The attack was carried out from the residential area of the seminary. He said every aspect was being taken care of and only after it was ensured that everything was safe inside, people could enter there.

The forces had also arrested four militants hidden in a drain near Lal Masjid. The general said 10 security forces personnel embraced Shahadat and 33 were wounded. To a question, he said no suicide attack by the ‘terrorists’ was reported during the operation. To another question, he said the body of the mother of late Ghazi had not been identified yet.

He said on July 3, the security forces were deployed in two cordons. In the inner cordon (closest to the Lal Masjid), Rangers and police were deployed while Army troops were deployed in the outer cordon.

He said that in Tuesday’s operation, only the SSG forces participated while no personnel from the inner or outer cordon took part in it. AFP adds: “The first phase, of flushing out and clearing the area of militants, is over,” Director General ISPR Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP at the end of 36 hours of fighting that followed a week-long siege.

“The second phase is in progress to comb and sanitize the area of unexploded grenades and booby traps. Bodies have to be gathered and taken out.” Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said no bodies of women or children had been found despite earlier statements by officials that the militants were holding hundreds of them in the mosque.

“What the troops are doing now is mopping up, picking up. There may be booby-traps and other such things so they are going room-to-room to clear the premises,” he said. Around 60 women and children have emerged from the complex since 164 SSG commandos launched the assault at dawn on Tuesday, while officials said on condition of anonymity that a number of them were in hospital.

Another 1,300 people, around two-thirds of them women, fled earlier in the standoff. Officials said earlier estimates of the number left when the raid started appeared to have been overstated.

President Pervez Musharraf ordered the assault after talks collapsed with Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi during the siege – which itself left 24 people dead, including two soldiers. One injured man was taken out of the compound on a stretcher shortly after the announcement that the operation was over and immediately surrounded by troops and police, an AFP reporter witnessed.

In a late night development, some 30 bodies were sent from the Sihala Police College to the H-11 Graveyard for burial. Many of the bodies could not be identified due to their poor condition. The Interior Ministry said that that DNA tests had been carried out on 73 bodies. Also, many bodies had been identified through the record provided by Nadra. Media have been allowed coverage of the militant burial in the Islamabad graveyard. Meanwhile, a private TV channel reported late night that security forces have discovered two mass graves in Jamia Hafsa and retrieved three bodies.

Ghazi’s widow flees

ISLAMABAD: Late Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi’s widow, Humaira Ghazi, had fled from Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa Complex safely, sources told The News. Humaira, 40, fled from the complex along with her young son, Muhammad Haroon and two daughters on July 3, when firing and shelling between Rangers and the mosque inmates took place. She went to her father’s residence in F-10 and was living there. Police have interrogated her and no case has been registered against her, the sources revealed.

SC orders Ghazi’s burial as Amanat

Helps sisters to attend burial today

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the government to take six members of the family of Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi to their home town Rojhan Mazari to facilitate their participation in burial rites of the late Maulana.

Ghazi was among, at least, 66 people killed in an operation launched by the security forces at the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa Complex in Islamabad on Tuesday. The court also directed the Interior Ministry that Ghazi should be buried as Amanat at his ancestral village Rojhan Mazari.

A two-member bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, was hearing an application filed by three sisters of Ghazi, who pleaded for bringing back Ghazi’s body for burial beside the grave of their father Maulana Abdullah in Sector E-7, Islamabad, in accordance with the will of the late Ghazi.

Ghazi’s sisters Nabeela, Ayesha and Jamila, who live in Islamabad, filed the application with the Registrar of the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon. The bench stressed that the local administration of Rojhan Mazari should not put any restrictions on the burial of Maulana Ghazi and the burial rites should be allowed according to Islamic traditions.

The bench also directed the Interior Ministry to release Mst Majida Umme-e-Hassaan, spouse of Maulana Abdul Aziz, and her two daughters Tayyaba and Asma, on parole so that they could also be sent to Rojhan Mazari for participation in burial of Ghazi.

The bench further directed to immediately identify and hand over to the heirs bodies of Sahiba Khatoon, mother of Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi and Maulana Abdul Aziz, Hasaan, son of Maulana Abdul Aziz, Atta Muhammad, nephew of Abdul Aziz, Maulana Inaamullah and Maulana Noor Muhammad, cousins of Ghazi.

At the outset of the hearing, Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema, the spokesman of Ministry of Interior, informed the bench that Ghazi’s body had been sent to Rojhan Mazari for burial and Maulana Abdul Aziz was taken along with the body after being released on parole.

At this, the court gave the Interior Ministry spokesman half-an-hour to stop Ghazi’s burial and make arrangements to take the members of the late Maulana’s family to their hometown for participation in the burial.

The bench also directed the spokesman to arrange a telephonic conversation of the three sisters with their brother Maulana Abdul Aziz. When the court resumed hearing after half-an-hour, a sister of Ghazi, Ayesha, told the court that her brother Maulana Abdul Aziz had told her by phone that he was with Ghazi’s body and was not allowed so far to see the face of his brother.

She further informed the court that her brother Maulana Abdul Aziz asked her to make efforts for bringing back Ghazi’s body to Islamabad. Iftikhar Gillani, counsel for Ghazi’s three sisters, told the court that the late Ghazi’s family had been living in Islamabad for the last 60 years, therefore, Ghazi’s body should be brought back to Islamabad.

At this, Justice Khokhar said that it was not possible by this time. He said they could make arrangements for the family members to participate in the burial rites of Ghazi in Rojhan Mazari. The bench also directed the Interior Ministry spokesman to release those persons who were not required to the government in any case and submit a report today (Thursday).

NNI adds: The court said the family of late Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi reserved the right to bring back the body of Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi to Islamabad for permanent burial at an appropriate time.

The apex court further ordered to carry out the burial of Maulana Ghazi in traditional Islamic way and his face may be shown to his family, if possible. Monitoring report: According to a private TV channel, Ghazi’s burial that was earlier planned for Wednesday evening would now be held on Thursday morning. Members of Ghazi’s family would be taken to Rojhan Mazari by a special plane in accordance with the Supreme Court directive.

Government claims deceptive

ISLAMABAD: The government’s repeated claims that late Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi had laid mines and held women and children hostage to use them as a “human shield” turned out to be mere “misreporting” of intelligence informers.

The reports of suicide bombers, reported to be present inside the Lal-Masjid-Jamia Hafsa complex, also turned out to be baseless. Sources said that during the bloody military operation, no landmines or hostages were found in the complex.

A source said that after finding out the real story, the authorities themselves felt embarrassed as to how to confront the media, both national and international, which was fed earlier with baseless intelligence reports.

However, the government’s strict decision not to allow the media to go even near the “battlefield” has successfully helped the authorities to cover up the intelligence agencies’ misreporting so far.

Major General Waheed Arshad, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that no “suicide bombing” incident occurred during the operation. He also did not confirm that troops had found even a single mine laid inside the complex, although, he said that the combing operation was in progress.

Late Ghazi repeatedly requested that the media should be allowed to visit the complex to see by itself the situation but the authorities did not permit even the parliamentarians, the Ulema and the government representatives, including Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, to enter the complex apprehending that they would be made hostages.

None of the 27 women “rescued” by the authorities on Tuesday in the middle of the operation confirmed to have been held hostage or used as a human shield. Instead, reports revealed that these women were begging to the authorities to send them back to the Jamia Hafsa as they wanted to embrace ‘martyrdom’.

When they heard of the news of the death of Maulana Ghazi, they burst into tears. Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ejazul Haq, when confronted on the issue, told The News that the women, who were held hostage, did not actually know that they were being used as “human shield”. About the reaction of women “rescued” from the complex, he said, “They have been brainwashed.”

When asked that usually those held hostage or used as a “human shield” fell victim to a commando action but in this case no hostage was even hurt, the minister said that the operation was conducted with extreme care and to ensure minimum-possible collateral damage.

Secretary General Wafaqul Madaris Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, when asked if he had any knowledge of the reports of women and children being used as hostage, said “that was all government propaganda.”

Jalandhari was included in the Ulema team that had made a last-ditch effort for a negotiated settlement of the Lal Masjid crisis but could not succeed after the Presidency changed the draft agreement.

He said that he was even contacted by parents of three female students of the Jamia Hafsa, who said that these students, despite repeated requests, were not willing to go home. On the question of “hostages”, Waheed Arshad told The News that if the women and children were not held as hostage, they should have come out of the complex on their own accord. He said that 27 women were “rescued” but he did not know how these women had reacted as reported by some newspapers.

When asked how the women who were held “hostage” and used as “human shields” were rescued unhurt, the military spokesman explained that the militants “guarding” the rescued women were first killed that led to their “rescue”.

Absar Alam, senior journalist and Bureau Chief of Geo News in Islamabad, whose team covered the moment-to-moment events of the Lal Masjid since July 3, said that there was no confirmation from any independent source of the government’s recent claims that the militants inside had held women and children as hostage, laid mines or prepared suicide jackets.

Alam said that till Wednesday evening, the media had no access to the Lal Masjid Complex, enabling the government to give its choice information to the press. For most of the stories, he said, the reporters were either dependent on the government or the militants who were holed up in the complex.

Madaris body to hold countrywide protests tomorrow

RAWALPINDI: The Wafaq-ul-Madaris Arabia has announced to hold countrywide protest demonstrations on Friday against the Lal Masjid operation.

A meeting of the working committee of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris Arabia, at the Jamia Islamia Kashmir, chaired by its President of Wafaqul Madaris Maulana Salimullah Khan, expressed concern over the prolonged operation and rejected the government’s claims about the number of deaths.

Vice-President of the Wafaq-ul-Madaris Dr Abdul Razzaq and General Secretary Maulana Muhammad Hanif Jalandhari, while announcing the decisions of the meeting, said that the protest day would be observed on Friday while ‘Tahfaz-e-Madaris-e-Deenia’ conventions would be held in Islamabad, and the provincial capitals and Muzaffarabad from July 16 to August 9.

He said Lahore would host the first convention on July 16, Islamabad on July 19, Peshawar on July 26, Muzaffarabad on July 28, Karachi on August 2, while convention in Quetta would be organised on August 9.

Jalandhari said the meeting strongly condemned the operations and the killing of Maulana Ghazi, his mother and hundreds of other people. He said the meeting urged the government to apprise the public of the facts. “The operation against Jamia Hafsa was prolonged which created doubts in the minds of people,” he said.

He alleged that Gen Musharraf had already taken decision about action against Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa and, therefore, the last-ditch efforts to reach agreement with Lal Masjid met with failure.

Dr Abdul Razzaq said the meeting had asked all the Madrassas in the country to continue their academic activities with full confidence without any fear. “The meeting also asked the government to contact Wafaqul Madaris if it wants details about any seminary,” he said.

The meeting warned the government against changing the status of Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia. “We will strongly resist any attempt to raise any other organisation in place of Jamia Hafsa,” the meeting observed.

He said the meeting also decided that the Wafaq-ul-Madaris would also move the superior courts against Lal Masjid operation. The meeting also demanded of the government to allow teaching staff and students to continue academic activity at Jamia Faridia and remove the security forces from there. The meeting said the body of Ghazi should be handed over to his family and it should be buried with full respect.

Zawahri urges revenge over Lal Masjid

DUBAI: Al Qaeda’s second-in command Ayman al-Zawahri, in an Internet video posted on Wednesday, called for revenge over the Pakistan government assault on Lal Masjid.

“This crime can only be washed by repentance or blood,” Zawahri said in the video posted on Web sites used by Islmists. “If you do not retaliate … (Pakistani President Pervez) Musharraf will not spare any of you,” he said, addressing Pakistani Muslims and their clerical leaders.

Zawahri called for Pakistanis to join the Jihad in revenge for the attack by the Pakistan Army on the mosque. “If you do not revolt, Musharraf will annihilate you. Musharraf will not stop until he uproots Islam from Pakistan,” he added.

“The aggression against Lal Masjid” and entirely focused on the recent clashes between Islamic students and Pakistan’s Army, the video was released by al-Qaeda’s multimedia branch, as-Sahab. He said that Musharraf and his cohorts have tarnished the honour of the Ulema “in service of the crusaders and the Jews.”

Ghazi’s body reaches hometown

ISLAMABAD: The body of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi was taken to Rojhan Mazari on helicoper on Wednesday. Maulana Abdul Aziz and other high officials also arrived at Rojhan Mazari by helicopter.

The preparations for the funeral of Maulana Ghazi have been made in Rojhan Abdullah, an area of Rojhan Mazari . Four graves have been dug. Some of the relatives of Ghazi and leaders of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Sami, Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Darkhasti and Maulana Hafeez, have already reached Rojhan Abdullah.

Besides, a large number of people are arriving from Rahimyar Khan, Sukkur and Dera Ghazi Khan to attend the funeral. AFP adds: Earlier, local police officer Qayyum Nawaz Qaisarani told AFP graves are being dug for the burial of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, his mother and two unidentified others killed in the mosque assault, at Sadwani, 270 kilometres southwest of Multan.

“We will not prevent people from attending their funeral prayers,” he said, adding that students from two Madrassas in the area founded by Ghazi’s late father, Abdullah Aziz, were among those expected to attend. Each religious school has around 150 students.

Nadeem Shah adds from Multan: No disturbance or tension was witnessed on Wednesday in the hometown of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi in Tehsil Rojhan. Tehsil Rojhan was calm till the filing of this report at 5 pm as shops and bazaars remained open as usual.

A senior security official told The News that the Ghazi family had not been involved in sectarian activities and hence not placed in the Fourth Schedule. One of the elders of the Ghazi family, Abdullah told The News that they had been waiting for five bodies for burial: those of his son Inamullah, who was a Khateeb at Islamabad Margala mosque, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Atta Muhammad of Rojhan, Maulana Abdul Aziz’s son Hassam and Ghazi’s mother.

More than 100 bereaved friends and relatives were waiting for the bodies at a Madrassa established by Maulana Abdullah. They will be buried at village Sodowani, some 40 km away from Rojhan in Rajanpur district.

The police said no extraordinary security measures were taken and that the relatives were cooperating with the administration. Talking to The News by the telephone, the Naib Nazim of Shahwali Union Council 43, Ayub Soomro, said though the area had a population of only around 12,000 people, the Ghazi family was not known to them. He said they had just come to know about them.

Body of Ghazi’s mother not identified yet

ISLAMABAD: The body of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghaziís mother, who died in Tuesday’s operation at Lal Masjid, has not been identified so far, ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Waheed Arshad said on Wednesday. Briefing media persons, he confirmed the death of Maulana Ghazi’s mother, but said her body has not been identified yet. Ghazi’s mother succumbed to her injuries during intense clashes between security forces and the militants at Lal Masjid Tuesday.

Army officer laid to rest

BAHAWALPUR: Funeral prayer of Captain Sulman Farooq Lodhi, who was martyred during the Operation Silence in Lal Masjid, was offered at Garrison Polo Ground, Noor Mahal, on Wednesday.

Corps Commander Lt-Gen Raza Muhammad Khan, Maj-Gen Ashraf Tabassum, Maj-Gen Javed Iqbal and other senior military and civil officers and relatives of Captain Sulman attended the funeral prayer. Later on, Captain Sulman was laid to rest at Hazrat Malook Shah Graveyard.

Captain Sulman was commissioned in the Air Defence Regiment in April 2001. He joined the Special Services Group in May 2003. In recognition of his bravery and utmost devotion to the duty, he was awarded Tamgha-e-Basalat for conducting a similar operation in Wana. He was married about seven months ago. He has left behind a widow, three brothers and three sisters. Captain Farooq after completing his FSc from the Government SE College got admission to a medical college in Iran.

Musharraf addresses nation today

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf will address the nation about the Lal Masjid raid that killed dozens of people and the government’s new anti-terror strategy, officials said on Wednesday. The televised address on Thursday (today) will be his first official comment on the armed assault on the Lal Masjid. “The president is due to address the nation on a new strategy to combat extremism and terrorism,” a presidential aide told AFP. “He will also detail the circumstances which pushed the government to launch a military operation in Islamabad,” the aide said. The aide gave no further details about the contents of the speech.

President attends funeral of Shaheed soldiers

RAWALPINDI: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday offered Namaz-e-Janaza of nine soldiers who had died in the operation at Lal Masjid, at Chaklala.

The president prayed for the deceased, who bravely fought till Shahadat against the militants. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Ehsan ul Haq and Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ahsan Saleem Hayat also attended the funeral.

Later, President Musharraf visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and enquired about the health of soldiers wounded during the military operation. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also visited the CMH and enquired about the health of the injured security personnel.

Musharraf endangering Pakistan: opposition

LONDON: President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to raid Islamabad’s Lal Masjid to flush out militants and other actions are stoking extremism and endangering Pakistan, exiled opposition leaders said on Wednesday.

The London talks, hosted by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, seek to map out concrete steps to end Gen Musharraf’s rule and restore democracy.

For example the leaders may decide on “how to hold rallies and on such and such a date,” Sharif’s spokesman Nadir Chaudhri told AFP after a fresh round of talks began.

Chaudhri, speaking after similar broad-based talks were held in London at the weekend, said opposition parties were “unanimous in opposing the military dictatorship. There were only different approaches to achieving that end.”

In what opposition leader and former cricket star Imran Khan called “his biggest crisis,” Musharraf faces growing challenges from both Islamist militants and a movement led by journalists, lawyers and opposition parties.

A deadly armed assault on the Lal Masjid ordered by Musharraf where Islamist militants were holed up, is likely to spark “unintended and dangerous consequences”, Khan warned.

Khan wrote in The Guardian newspaper that Musharraf’s decision to launch the raid could drive the population even closer to the extremists. “Suicide bombing and other noxious forms of terrorism were once alien to Pakistan. After eight years of military dictatorship, radicalism and fundamentalism are in the ascendant everywhere,” Khan warned.

“Terrorism requires a political solution. Extremists can be marginalised through debate and political dialogue in a democracy,” Khan said.

Sharif and Benazir Bhutto have also warned that Musharraf’s military rule was also stoking extremism. They say the US-led policy of backing Musharraf as a bulwark against Islamist militancy is backfiring.

Chaudhri said Khan was among the opposition leaders attending the talks in London. He said Bhutto was absent as she was away during the weekend but party representatives were present.

Musharraf “is desperate to prove his indispensability to the West in the war on terror” as he confronts “his biggest crisis” in the form of a growing movement for the restoration of democracy, he said. “But this use of force is likely to produce unintended and dangerous consequences, as it has in Balochistan, Waziristan and Bajaur,” he said.

“Musharraf is perceived among radical elements as the West’s instrument in a ‘war on Islam’ — there could be no greater failure in the battle for hearts and minds.”

MMA demos against Jamia Hafsa operation

HYDERABAD: On a call of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) activists and workers of Jamaat-e-Islami staged a protest demonstration here on Wednesday against the Jamia Hafsa operation, chanting anti-Musharraf slogans.

Carrying banners and placards, the JI workers led by MMA district president Abdul Waheed Qureshi, Sheikh Shaukat and others condemned the government action on Lal Masjid and slammed the policies of the military regime against the seminary and mosque.

However none of the workers and leaders of other component parties of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal including Jamiat Ulema Islam, Jamiat Ulema Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Islami attended the demonstration outside the Hyderabad press club.

PML-N leader Afzal Gujar also attended the demonstration and condemned the government operation against the Lal Masjid and killing of people in the seminary and said that negotiations were the best solution.

Waheed Qureshi, Sheikh Shaukat and other JI leaders questioned as to why Ulema’s request for mediation was not considered and blamed the government for action against the Lal Masjid and its students.

The participants also offered funeral prayers in absentia for the deceased.

PPI adds: In Mirpurkhas, the activists of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on Wednesday held a protest demonstration here against the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa tragedy.

The protesters, led by Maulana Abdul Hafeez, Ehsan-ul-Elahi Mughal, and Zafar Iqbal, chanted slogans against the government.

Speakers said Lal Masjid was bathed with blood of innocent people.

They said the operation against mosques was aimed at pleasing the West.

A huge contingent of police was present there to cope with any eventuality.

The activists of Jamaat-e-Islami district Ghotki chapter staged a protest demonstration in Ubarau on Wednesday against the military operation.

Led by district chief Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Mazari, a large number of party activists rallied on various roads and reached the National Highway, where they observed a sit-in.

Demonstrators chanted slogans against the rulers and condemned the operation.

Speakers saluted Abdul Rashid Ghazi Shaheed, who, they said, had sacrificed his life for the struggle to enforce the Islamic system.

‘Ghazi’s sacrifice to kick start Islamic movement’

SARAI SALEH: The blood of Ghazi Abdul Rashid will not go in vain and will encourage and give impetus to the movement for domination of Islam and implementation of Shariah in the country.

Talking to Online on Wednesday, leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) NWFP, Maulana Qazi Gul Rahman said Ghazi Rashid offered his utmost resistance and his Shahadat created panic among the enemies of Islam. The entire Islamic world is proud of him.

Maulana Gul Rahman strongly condemned the operation at Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa. He cautioned that any effort to make Pakistan a US colony and implementation of the Zionist agenda in the country will be strongly resisted.

The present rulers, while following foreign agenda, kept mum when foreign planes entered into Pakistan territory and bombarded to kill numerous Pakistanis in Wana and South Waziristan, the veteran leader of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam said adding that this action proves that the rulers only prefer to stick to power and do not care for the country or its people.

Mosque carnage puts pressure on Madrassas

ISLAMABAD: The bloodshed at Lal Masjid has again turned the spotlight on Madrassas, which are accused of links to attacks at home, in neighbouring Afghanistan and as far away as London.

But at the same time, analysts say, the killing of scores of militants in Tuesday’s assault at the mosque might trigger a backlash, but is likely to deal a blow to a growing wave of radicalism in the country.

“In the short term, there will be some reaction. There will be some attacks,” said Mehmood Shah, a former security chief of the tribal areas. “But in the longer run, it will prove good if the government continued with his policy,” he said.

“It will send a strong message to the militants that they will be wiped out with force if they do not mend their ways. This will also discourage parents from sending their children to such Madrassas where militancy is taught instead of religion.”

The organisation that oversees the country’s 13,000 registered Madrassas, the Wafaqul Madaris, denies the students are involved in extremist activities. “Like no human being can survive without water and air, no Muslim society can survive without Madrassas,” Mufti Muhammad Zareen Khan, a senior official from the organisation, told AFP.

He said the schools cater to the “poorest of the poorest”, providing children with free education, board and lodging—plus tutoring in the tenets of the religion. “Madrassas are not involved in extremism. If teaching the concept of Jihad in Islam is viewed as an act of extremism by the West, we do not accept it.”

Yet, only two years ago, President Pervez Musharraf promised a massive crackdown on Madrassas after it emerged that some of the suicide bombers who struck the London transport network on July 7, 2005 had attended them. But the move faltered largely because of opposition from hard-line clerics.

At the time Musharraf had ordered all foreign students to leave Pakistan. Plans to register the Madrassas, however, moved slowly. Some 6,000 have not done so.

Radical Madrassas, particularly in the tribal areas, have more recently been accused of training fighters for the Taliban insurgency there. Many of them were set up, often with US and Saudi funding, as indoctrination and military training sites during the 1979-1989 US-backed guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan.

The most hard-line schools, particularly near the Afghan border, went on to produce thousands of young recruits for the Taliban, both when they ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and then after the regime was ousted by a US-led coalition.

Pakistani liberals, worried about the spread of militancy in a process known as “Talibanisation”, have long demanded that the government clamp down on radical Madrassas.

Senior journalist Imtiaz Alam said there were hundreds of such “nurseries where the future terrorists are being bred” and appealed for united action. “Let there be no politics on this issue, but a national consensus on holistically eradicating religious extremism and terrorism,” Alam said.

Muttahir Ahmed, professor of international relations at the Karachi University, said that while Musharraf may have tackled one of the most radical Madrassas, the Jamia Hafsa, others would still cause problems. “The Madrassas will not let him do it again and can come back more strongly,” Ahmed said.

Musharraf could even face opposition from the more moderate schools. One such cleric, who runs a well-known Madrassa in NWFP, said the assault on Lal Masjid would inflame militancy. “There will be negative consequence and if they continue with this policy of dealing strictly with Madrassas, there will be a reaction … this will lead to civil war,” said the cleric, Sami-ul-Haq, who is also a senator.

Sami, like many Islamists in Pakistan, said the government was merely doing the bidding of the United States. “Musharraf should divorce Bush if he wants to eradicate militancy,” he said

“The attack is a death warrant for all Madrassas and Muslims should not allow such attacks,” said Qari Sher Afzal, a senior member of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.