It has turn out to be a close to common incidence; a few times a 12 months Maulana Abdul Aziz makes an attempt to ship sermons or forcefully occupy Lal Masjid, with the authorities managing to take away him shortly after. Nonetheless, the issue seems to be that these frequent forays have emboldened Aziz, who has now barricaded himself within the mosque as soon as extra with a gaggle of feminine college students and has refused to depart till his calls for are met. Our legislation enforcement businesses have laid siege to the mosque and are adamant that they won’t give in to calls for which can be predicated on flouting our legal guidelines or structure.
What the rebellious cleric desires has not modified through the years. Possession of the outdated kids’s library plot close by, a big piece of land for Jamia Hafsa – alongside Rs 250 million – and being reinstated because the khateeb of Lal Masjid are all inconceivable to grant for us, and the Maulana most likely is aware of this too. However the calls for themselves don’t look to be the one motivation behind this incursion – Aziz is clearly trying to check the federal government and coping with him swiftly is the one option to set up that the writ of the state is to not be taken frivolously.
Our battle in opposition to extremism is one the place the entire nation stands united, and it isn’t potential to grant Abdul Aziz the area he desires – to show impressionable minds his ideology and acquire management of the non secular narrative by turning into the khateeb of Lal Masjid. No rebellious cleric that virtually incites his supporters in opposition to the state might be allowed to carry the capital hostage to fulfil private ambitions and accumulate energy. For this reason it’s equally necessary that the Auqaf Division seems to discover a extra everlasting resolution to the Lal Masjid challenge. If a senior member of our non secular fraternity is distributed to the mosque, Abdul Aziz and his allies could discover it more durable to coerce them into leaving.
Our progress made in the direction of getting Pakistan’s title off the Monetary Motion Process Pressure gray checklist and different steps in rooting out extremism and terrorism should not be allowed to go to waste on account of one particular person’s dedication to set himself in opposition to the state. This doesn’t solely apply to Maulana Abdul Aziz however others as properly; if anybody thinks that openly trying to take the capital hostage will end in getting what they need, they might be sorely mistaken.
Past the ramifications on overseas coverage or combating in opposition to extremism, you will need to nip this challenge within the bud due to the optics as properly. Lal Masjid is within the coronary heart of the capital and the message Aziz’s actions ship will not be optimistic. We hope that the federal government finds a decision to this challenge as quickly as potential and sends Abdul Aziz packing as soon as extra.