Deposed cleric in Pak by occupies state-owned mosque, claimes to be prayer leader

Deposed cleric of Lal Masjid in Pakistan's capital Islamabad Maulana Abdul Aziz is testing the nerves of the government by occupying the state-owned mosque, asserting his claim to be its prayer leader.

Maulana Aziz was removed from the post on the orders of the court in 2004 following a fatwa he issued against the army and the operation against terrorists in Waziristan.

However, he was reinstated after his release from prison in 2009, but he stirred another controversy in 2014 after he openly extended support to the perpetrators of the Army Public School attack in Peshawar by calling it a reactionary move by the terrorists.

Lal Masjid is a state-owned mosque and Maulana Abdullah, father of Maulana Aziz, was its first cleric. After his assassination in the 1990s, Maulana Aziz was appointed the cleric by the Islamabad Capital Territory's (ICT) Auqaf Department.

Maulana Aziz is taking advantage of the situation when the authorities seemed to be busy with other issues, and the slackness of the ICT administration to notify either a prayer leader or a deputy, Maulana Aziz re-entered the mosque two weeks ago, the Dawn reported on Saturday.

Currently, the capital administration has laid a siege to the area outside the mosque and Maulana Aziz along with female students is holed up inside.

None of the sides seem to back off from their position and the standoff continues.

Possibly to test the reaction of the authorities, the cleric delivered a Friday sermon last week.

Around 100 female students of Jamia Hafsa in G-7 area of Islamabad, broke into the sealed building of the branch the seminary located at H-11 on Thursday night.

As a result, officers from the capital administration approached Lal Masjid to meet Maulana Aziz. But talks remained inconclusive as the cleric insisted that a senior authority equivalent to a federal minister should negotiate with him.

"They are all bent upon committing the same mistake again. They are not honouring the verdict of the Supreme Court and reluctant to enforce the supremacy of Sharia in the country," Maulana Aziz told Dawn over phone from inside the mosque.

"They have given us a deadline to vacate Jamia Hafsa in H-11 with the threat to launch an operation again. Food supply too has been stopped but we are determined to remain steadfast for the sake of Islam," he said.

As the area has been closed since Thursday night after the authorities warned the cleric to vacate the mosque, citizens were allowed to enter the mosque to offer Friday prayers under strict conditions.

Maulana Aziz delivered a fiery sermon on Friday, stopping just short of declaring the state authorities not being the true followers of Islam and even working against the interest of the country.

An official of the capital administration acknowledged that there was no khateeb or naib khateeb at Lal Masjid after Amir Siddique was transferred two months ago.

"The problem is that Maulana and his group threaten the cleric notified by the Auqaf Department," the officer said.

He added that the demands of Maulana Aziz cannot be fulfilled as he wants to become the prayer leader of the mosque again.

He also wants Rs 250 million along with a large piece of land to establish Jamia Hafsa and the possession of the adjacent old children's library plot, he added.

"First of all, we are hopeful that he will leave the place in two or three days," the official said, adding the authorities could use the status of Jamia Hafsa in G-7 as a bargaining chip if the maulana remained adamant on his move.

Almost all the land of Jamia Hafsa where the maulana resides has been built on encroached land after covering a natural water course.

Aziz was caught during the 2007 operation when he was trying to escape clad in a woman's full veil (burqa).

Several cases were registered against him but he was not convicted and allowed to walk free from imprisonment after some time. He has been living in Islamabad since then.