I was living near lal mosque during the operation just a few yards away. i used to go out and see the operation from a safe distance. for an entire week terrorists were firing bullets on security forces. we wondered how come so much weapon the have stashed which doesnt end. then i use to watch tv channels as there was curfew and i didnt go out of the area. media played a very negative role. it was giving live coverage to terrorists almost nonstop. it was clearly in favor of the mullahs.
i wondered why people condemn this operation. i mean what could a state do when you run parallel government within the capital just a couple of kilometers away from parliament. why did media and public condemned these mullahs for taking law into their own hands. why didnt they condemn them when they were not surrendering and instead firing on security forces. if they were innocent they should have allowed forces to check them. anyway, the media portrayed the whole incident in favor of terrorists. the same happened in other operations like Wazirirstan.
i think media was against all these operation because they did not like Musharraf for being a military ruler. if some one asks me why Musharraf did not succedd in winning against terrorists, i would say one big reason was the media which was against him and these operation. after the operation and arrest of Aziz gazi, i saw a lot of graffiti on walls in G 6 sector, in favor of jihad and mullahs. the signature was always Gazi Force. i think the graffiti is still there.
but this is also to noted that lal mosque is just a few hundred meters away from Shahid Hamid lines. how could intellegence agencies did not detect any wrongful activity. there were reports that these mullahs were once the protege of agencies. and once GAR was arrested with weapon but police let him go.
let me share a story with you which once my roommate told me before the operation. i was living in a hostel and i had a new roommate from lahore. he had spent most part of his life in europe. he was quite a gentleman. once he told me about GAR. he said that once his neigbour and friend came to him to accompany him to Islamabad. his friend had relatives in india but couldnt get visa. after rejection of visa mullah in his mahallah gave him a reference letter for GAR. my friend, lets call him X, and his friend, lets call him Y, both came to lal mosque.
X told me that GAR was given the letter and after he read the letter picked up his cell and called Indian embassy. then told Y to go tomorrow to the embassy and you will get your visa. both were given accommodation in the medressa. the next day he went to embassy and got his visa. X told me that he was stunned that how could a mullah be so influential. when the operation started after almost one year when my X told me the story, i recalled his story.
i cant draw any conclusion from this but isn't it interesting that a mullah can get you indian visa.