The siege of Lal Masjid named as Operation Silence was a confrontation
between Islamic Fundamentalist militants and Government of Pakistan led by
General Pervez Musharraf and Shoukat Aziz administration, then prime minister
of Pakistan. That operation was ordered by then Army Chief General Pervez
Musharraf and it was carried out jointly special services group and 111 Brigade
of Pakistan and supervised by the then Corps Commander of Pakistan. The focal
points of operation were Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) and adjacent Jamia Hafsa Madrasah
in Islamabad, Pakistan.
On 4th December 2012, a One-Man Commission has been formed to probe in to the Lal Masjid operation 2007 launched by General Musharraf. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Ifhtikhar Mohammad Choudhry heard a suo moto case along with the contempt writ filled by Maulana Abdul Aziz. The commission was assigned the task to ascertain whether the bodies of the killed person were identified and handed over to the heirs and whether the action has been taken against the people who caused this tragedy.
According to the document related to the probe, the commission is looking into the causes of the accident. It will point out whether any action would be taken under the law against the person who were found responsible for this incident.
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| Lal Masjid |
Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa Madrasah had been operated by
Islamic Militants and was led by two brothers Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul
Rashid Ghazi. This organization supported the imposition of Sharia in Pakistan.
According to the Umme Hassan, wife of Maulana Abdul Aziz said that the relations between
Lal Masjid and Government of Pakistan were detoriated in 1998. She said:
“During 2004 and 2005 Musharraf government in order to
please its Western allies, started discriminatory actions against my family
members and declared 80 mosques as a security risk and demolished them”
In early 2007, government demolishes 7 mosques in the
federal capital Islamabad. The leadership of Lal Masjid has also called for the
overthrow of Pakistan government. They were challenging the writ of the state. As
a result of it Jamia Hafsa girls occupied the children library in G-6. Also the
militants of Lal Masjid kidnapped the employee of Chinese parlour because they
were involved in the activities inimical to Islam. They fired on the rangers
and police personnels and also set the Environment Ministry Building to fire.
Choudhry Shujat Hussain was against this operation. He and
other religious scholars were leading towards an agreement between Lal Masjid
leadership and government. They were not succeded and on the direction of General Musharraf, Security Forces launched the operation
on the students of Lal Masjid on 3 July 2007. A battle erupted between security
forces and the students of Jamia Hafsa, which was led by Abdul Rashid Ghazi. He
was continuously negotiating with government mediator. He asked that if
government allowed them to leave the mosque without firing on them, they would surrender
infron of ulema committee, lay the arms down. Government asked to surrender
them unconditionally. Abdul Rashid Ghazi issued a fatwa
“Those who will be killed by the army troops will be
declared as Shaheed”.
Maulana Abdul Aziz
was arrested while he was trying to escape with his daughters by disguising
himself in a Burqa. Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed in that operation. According
to the police report, 103 people were murdered in that operation including
militants, security officers, etc.
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| Lal Masjid Oper |
People believed that one of the main
causes due to which Pervez Musharraf was forced to leave his job as president
of Pakistan was his brutal attack on Lal Masjid. This attack on Lal Masjid and
Jamia Hafsa lead towards the fall of his regime. They said that due to this
huge blunder of General Musharraf the terrorist activities have increased in
Pakistan.
On 4th December 2012, a One-Man Commission has been formed to probe in to the Lal Masjid operation 2007 launched by General Musharraf. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Ifhtikhar Mohammad Choudhry heard a suo moto case along with the contempt writ filled by Maulana Abdul Aziz. The commission was assigned the task to ascertain whether the bodies of the killed person were identified and handed over to the heirs and whether the action has been taken against the people who caused this tragedy.
The one man commission will be headed by
senior judge of Federal Shariat Court, Shahzado Shaikh and police have been
ordered to hand him all the documents and witnesses related to the operation.
The commission is due to conclude its decision in 45 days.
Many male and female volunteer witnessed
before the commission. These volunteer includes Umme Hassan, wife of Maulana
Abdul Aziz and Maulana Abdul Aziz and the administrators of the Jamia Hafsa and
Lal Masjid who were in contact with Maulana Abdul Aziz before and after the
operation.
Umme Hassan, principal Jamia Hafsa and wife of Maulana Abdul Aziz in
her statement recorded before the commission praised military dictator Gen
(retired) Ziaul Haq for promoting Jihadi culture but criticised Gen (retired)
Pervez Musharraf for branding the Jihadis as terrorists.
She believed that Gen (retired) Musharraf, Gen (retired)
Rashid Qureshi then spokesman of President House, and a serving three-star
general Waheed Arshad, then
director-general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), were responsible
for the Lal Masjid operation.
Maulana Abdul Aziz told the Commission.
“Gen Musharraf was against our religious ideology. In his
tenure the district management started demolishing 80 mosques in the federal
capital. That was why students of Jamia Faridia started protesting against him.
Gen Musharraf branded them as terrorists and ultimately launched the military
operation“.
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| Maulana Abdul Aziz |
According to the document related to the probe, the commission is looking into the causes of the accident. It will point out whether any action would be taken under the law against the person who were found responsible for this incident.
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