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ISLAMABAD: The most hardline cleric in Pakistan’s capital on Friday demanded that the government enforce Islamic law or risk bloody revolution, two years after security forces stormed his Red Mosque.
‘The rulers should announce Islamic sharia through the national assembly,’ said Maulana Abdul Aziz, who was captured during the July 2007 siege to flush out Al-Qaeda-linked militants allegedly holed up at the mosque.
He was arrested trying to flee the deadly siege in a woman’s burka.His release on bail 21 months later raised fears the Red Mosque could become a flashpoint for Islamabad once again.
‘If they do not enforce sharia, there is risk of bloody revolution,’ added Aziz, who faces around two dozen cases of terror, abduction and abetting the seizure of government property but has yet to stand trial.
The cleric addressed Islamist militancy in the northwest district of Swat and the tribal belt, where Pakistani troops are fighting an insurgency.
‘If you want to solve the problems, you should stop the operations in Swat and the tribal areas, then enforce sharia in Pakistan,’ said Aziz, who asked his audience to promise to continue the struggle to enforce Islamic justice.
During the main Friday prayers, worshippers chanted ‘al-Jihad al-Jihad’ (holy war), ‘Long live Islam,’ ‘Long live the martyrs’ and ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is great).
Young boys wore traditional red caps favoured by Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Aziz’s brother. The main figurehead for radical militants at the mosque, he was killed during the siege.
‘You killed one Ghazi. Here are thousands of Ghazis ready to sacrifice in the way of Allah,’ a speaker told the gathering.
Last year, on the first anniversary of the siege a suicide bomber targeting police at an Islamist rally nearby killed 15 people.
Mosque authorities and Pakistani police enforced strict security Friday, closing all roads leading to the complex and searching all visitors.
Government forces surrounded the mosque on July 3, 2007 following a clash between police and militants, who allegedly used it as a base for an Islamic vigilante campaign in the capital.
On July 10, army commandos stormed the building and an adjacent girls’ school, in an operation that left more than 100 people dead.
The events at the mosque unleashed a wave of revenge bombings across Pakistan that have since killed around 2,000 people. Attacks are now part of daily life. — AFP
DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | Abdul Aziz cleric warns of ?bloody revolution?
(wonder why he is passing such statements. Is he trying to clear his tarnish image after running in burqa.). A mosque right in the middle of Capital and gathering of hard line mullahs. Unable to understand, what govt is doing.Even few swat hardline mullah took refuge in his house.
‘The rulers should announce Islamic sharia through the national assembly,’ said Maulana Abdul Aziz, who was captured during the July 2007 siege to flush out Al-Qaeda-linked militants allegedly holed up at the mosque.
He was arrested trying to flee the deadly siege in a woman’s burka.His release on bail 21 months later raised fears the Red Mosque could become a flashpoint for Islamabad once again.
‘If they do not enforce sharia, there is risk of bloody revolution,’ added Aziz, who faces around two dozen cases of terror, abduction and abetting the seizure of government property but has yet to stand trial.
The cleric addressed Islamist militancy in the northwest district of Swat and the tribal belt, where Pakistani troops are fighting an insurgency.
‘If you want to solve the problems, you should stop the operations in Swat and the tribal areas, then enforce sharia in Pakistan,’ said Aziz, who asked his audience to promise to continue the struggle to enforce Islamic justice.
During the main Friday prayers, worshippers chanted ‘al-Jihad al-Jihad’ (holy war), ‘Long live Islam,’ ‘Long live the martyrs’ and ‘Allah Akbar’ (God is great).
Young boys wore traditional red caps favoured by Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Aziz’s brother. The main figurehead for radical militants at the mosque, he was killed during the siege.
‘You killed one Ghazi. Here are thousands of Ghazis ready to sacrifice in the way of Allah,’ a speaker told the gathering.
Last year, on the first anniversary of the siege a suicide bomber targeting police at an Islamist rally nearby killed 15 people.
Mosque authorities and Pakistani police enforced strict security Friday, closing all roads leading to the complex and searching all visitors.
Government forces surrounded the mosque on July 3, 2007 following a clash between police and militants, who allegedly used it as a base for an Islamic vigilante campaign in the capital.
On July 10, army commandos stormed the building and an adjacent girls’ school, in an operation that left more than 100 people dead.
The events at the mosque unleashed a wave of revenge bombings across Pakistan that have since killed around 2,000 people. Attacks are now part of daily life. — AFP
DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | Abdul Aziz cleric warns of ?bloody revolution?
(wonder why he is passing such statements. Is he trying to clear his tarnish image after running in burqa.). A mosque right in the middle of Capital and gathering of hard line mullahs. Unable to understand, what govt is doing.Even few swat hardline mullah took refuge in his house.
